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Cain Velasquez faces a nearly 20-pound weight and three-inch height disadvantage against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in UFC 160 Saturday night in Las Vegas. Reuters

Cain Velasquez regained his heavyweight title in emphatic fashion on Saturday with a unanimous-decision victory over Junior dos Santos at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Velasquez won by scores of 50-45, 50-44 and 50-43, and set the tone for the fight with a staggering right-handed blow early on. Dos Santos, who had defeated Velasquez in their previous bout in just 64 seconds, never seemed to recover from the punishment that was inflicted on him in Round One.

The American put dos Santos down early and often. Velasquez dictated the tempo, and used his strength and big straight punches to neutralize dos Santos.

As the fight progressed, dos Santos failed to gain momentum. The convincing victory over the Brazilian immediately vaults Velasquez to among the greatest UFC fighters of all-time.

"This fight was the hardest fight I've ever been through," Velasquez said, following the bout. "I kept it in my head to 'do it, do it, do it.' All my coaches helped me so much. They pushed me to do this."

Velasquez improved to 11-1 overall, and 9-1 in UFC. Dos Santos dropped to 15-2.

There is already talk of this rivalry turning into a trilogy.