Cain Velasquez has made a rapid rise towards the top of the UFC heavyweight division since first appearing at UFC 83 in 2008, but it's safe to say that the young star, who holds a perfect career record of 7-0, has never faced a challenge like the legendary Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. However Velasquez says he's ready.

"I am preparing for an all-out war on February 21 in Sydney," Velasquez wrote in a recent blog post for the Sydney Morning Herald. "My opponent Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is an incredible boxer, incredible with jiu-jitsu, so I can't really take the fight anywhere and expect it to be easy. I expect a war the whole time. I have been training with a lot more guys who specialize in jiu-jitsu to get ready for Nogueira, but other than that my training regime has been the same as usual - between two and three sessions a day."

Velasquez is set to face Nogueira at the headline match-up of UFC 110 on February 21, in a fight that may well determine the next challenger for the UFC heavyweight title. Nogueira, who was the first Pride heavyweight champion, and also held the UFC interim heavyweight title, has been one of the most successful fighters in the history of the sport. He's also coming off a big win over UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture at UFC 102 in a bout many considered the best fight of 2009.

Velasquez believes his bout with Nogueira could be the most memorable of his career, an idea which is sure to resonate with MMA fans, who are still buzing about the heart he showed in his last outing against Cheick Kongo at UFC 99.

"This could be the best fight of my career," Velasquez stated. "When I look back on my fights in the UFC, I don't really have a favourite yet, but definitely the one that stands out most is my battle with Cheick Kongo at UFC 99. I went through some adversity in that fight, but I wouldn't just fall over and crumble. I got hit and I came back on top and won the fight pretty easily. I surprised myself a little bit, I was willing to take his punches and then give back what I had. I think a lot of guys would have fallen. To take that kind of hit and then capitalize, it was great, but while I was really pleased with my toughness, I was not happy with the technical side of things, getting caught like that."

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 110 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!