UFC 99 was an average card.

If it hadn't been for an exciting super-fight, the casual fan would have been upset.

On the other hand, the card was great for hardcore fans. The fighters were matched up very well, and it provided solid fights.

Prior to the event everyone, was talking about how great several of the fighters were, and this was their chance to prove their worth—including heavyweight challenger, Cain Velasquez.

Cain is an All-American college wrestler, and has been on a war path since joining the UFC's Heavyweight Division. This was first chance to show the world that he is ready for tougher competition and is due for his title shot.

Fortunately for him, he won this fight. He did defeat Cheick Kongo, but during the 15-minute bore fest, he showed the world that he is human. Have you ever heard the saying, "Be careful what you wish for?"

Cain wants tougher guys, but Kongo was able to show huge holes in his game, and reminded of another.

Glancing at this division, you see Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Randy Couture and Big Nog at the top of the mountain. Every one of these fighters have a solid ground game, unlike Kongo. Mir's is world class, Randy is an Olympic caliber wrestler, and the other two are no slouches on the mat.

This means that almost everyone in front of Cain is either a better, comparable wrestler, or have a legit ground-submission game. This means trouble for Cain. He was able to hold Kongo on the ground, but lacked the conditioning and strength required to hold him down and finish the fight.

The reason this is bad, is because Cain proved that if he gets punched he will drop. Although he recovered quickly and was able to get a fight saving take down each time, he may not be able to do this to the guys ahead of him—meaning his wrestling may be great, but it will not win him the title.

Velasquez's punching looked great on the UFC 99 Countdown show, but was not at the level of Kongo's. This is a huge weakness and needs to be addressed. Unfortunately he may not have a tune up fight or two, to work on it.

Except for Lesnar we know that the others have a solid stand-up game; Nothing like Kongo, but good enough to stop fights. This part of his game is the weakest, and needs to the most work.

Lucky for Cain, the UFC has these legends in front of him that deserve to be fighting for the title. Look for the Couture-Nog winner to get the title fight, which opens fights with the loser of Mir-Lesnar, or even a fight against Shane Carwin.

Cain deserved the win at UFC 99. It is now time to check the video tape, work on head movement, and establish the ground game. If he does not improve, he will simply be the next gate keeper in this division.

Source : http://bleacherreport.com