UFC 146 Results & Recap – Junior Dos Santos Keeps Rolling Posted by Drew Ellis (05/27/2012 @ 12:24 am) Junior Dos Santos verified himself as the top heavyweight in the UFC as he knocked out Frank Mir in the second round of the main event of UFC 146 on Saturday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Coming into his bout with the former UFC champion, Mir, Dos Santos was expected to win with his crisp striking, and that is exactly what led to the win. After somewhat of an eventful first round that saw Dos Santos win thanks to his striking, the champion managed to finish off the fight in the second thanks to a big right hand that caught Mir flush on the cheek. JDS then followed up with a flurry on the ground to earn the TKO stoppage. The win for JDS was as big for him as it was a big loss for Mir. The former champion likely won’t see another title shot anytime soon after losing his last three matches where a belt was on the line by devastating knockout. Mir has had quite the career, but it is clear he doesn’t have the ability to contend with explosive strikers that have the ability to keep the fight standing. He has been brutally beaten by the likes of Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, and now Dos Santos. In the co-main event, Cain Velasquez destroyed Antonio Silva in Silva’s UFC debut. The former heavyweight champ bloodied Silva thanks to a big elbow across the nose and he followed up with a number of strikes thereafter. The win for Velasquez probably pushes him right back up to the No. 1 contender spot, as Dos Santos knocked him out in their meeting last November. For complete results from UFC 146, check out the jump. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, News, UFC Tags: Antonio Silva, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Dos Santos vs. Mir, Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos, MMA, Shane Carwin, top 10 heavyweights, UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Velasquez vs. Silva
UFC on FOX: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Preview Posted by Drew Ellis (11/11/2011 @ 4:16 pm) The UFC makes its national television debut on FOX Saturday night with one of the biggest heavyweight fights in the history of the organization as Cain Velasquez defends his heavyweight championship against Junior dos Santos. Coming into the fight, the oddsmakers like the champion Velasquez to retain, as he has a money line of -190 to win on Saturday night. Dos Santos comes in with odds of +155. These two will clash from the Honda Center in Anaheim at 9 p.m. ET live on FOX. Here is a look at both fighters and my pick for the winner. Cain Velasquez (9-0) – The former wrestler from Arizona State is unbeaten in his short MMA career and he holds wins over top fighters like Cheick Kongo, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Brock Lesnar. Velasquez started as a wrestler, but has quickly developed his boxing and turned into one of the top knockout artists in the division. The questions for the champion coming in are his conditioning and health, as he is coming off rotator cuff surgery that has sidelined him for over a year. His longest fight in the UFC is 15 minutes and he struggled to make it to the end there, so if this fight goes deep, he could be in rough shape. Junior dos Santos (13-1) – The Brazilian is 7-0 in the UFC and holds wins over the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Mirko CroCop, Roy Nelson, and Shane Carwin. Junior is a powerful striker that likes to throw heavy punches. His uppercut has been his signature strike to finish opponents, but he also works in devastating body shots. A black belt in jiu-jitsu as well, dos Santos hasn’t had to show those skills because he has been able to dominate fights standing. The test for him in this fight will be whether or not he is able to stuff the takedowns of Velasquez, as he has not faced a tough wrestler in the octagon. Like Velasquez, dos Santos hasn’t been pushed past 15 minutes yet, so fatigue could be an issue if this bout reaches the championship rounds. Who Will Win? – This fight could go 25 minutes and it could go 25 seconds. Both fighters have a lot of explosiveness to them but both also have some big questions coming in. Ultimately, I feel Velasquez’ striking is closer to matching dos Santos’ as opposed to dos Santos’ wrestling being anywhere near Velasquez’. I think both fighters will land some early strikes, but Velasquez will be the one to get the fight to the ground and control Junior from there. I am actually going to be part of the minority that sees this fight going the distance due to Velasquez going with the wrestling. Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, News, UFC Tags: 265-pound division, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Cheick Kongo, Dana White, Fabricio Werdum, Honda center, Junior dos Santos, mirko crocop, Mixed Martial Arts, mma heavyweights, Roy Nelson, Shane Carwin, top 10 heavyweights, UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championships, Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
UFC 131 Fight Card: June 11 Event Official Posted by Staff (04/06/2011 @ 8:26 am) HeavyMMA.com notes that the UFC officially announced “UFC 131: Lesnar vs. Dos Santos” for June 11 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. “UFC 131: Lesnar vs. Dos Santos” is currently scheduled to take place on June 11 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, but UFC officials have not made the location official yet. The event is headlined by a heavyweight No. 1 contender’s bout between “The Ultimate Fighter 13” coaches Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos. The venue , formerly known as GM Place, has hosted a UFC before. “UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin” was held there on June 12, 2010. British Columbia passed a bill to sanction mixed martial arts on December 17, 2009. Official bouts confirmed for UFC 131 include: MAIN CARD Junior Dos Santos vs. Brock Lesnar Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz Shane Carwin vs. Jon Olav Einemo Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes Dustin Poirier vs. Rani Yahya
Read the rest of the card. Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, UFC Tags: Brock Lesnar, Demian Maia, Donald Cerrone, Events, Junior dos Santos, Kenny Florian, Mac Danzig, Mark Munoz, MMA, MMA News, Shane Carwin, The Ultimate Fighter 13, TUF 13, UFC
Previewing the MMA in August Posted by Staff (07/26/2010 @ 8:12 am) E. Spencer Kyte of Heavy.com previewed the month of August in the MMA. After Brock Lesnar submitted Shane Carwin at UFC 116, the MMA world fell into a bit of a lull. The UFC was on their version of summer vacation, Strikeforce offered only last weekend’s Challengers Series event, and the real highlights of the remaining days were some overseas adventures from DREAM and Impact FC. As July winds down and August draws closer, here’s hoping you took the time to get some rest and get those family obligations ticked off the to-do list. Family camping trips need to be out of the way, your annoying cousin’s third wedding better be in the can, and the in-laws better not be expected any time soon. MMA’s summer vacation about to come to an end, and if you’re a fight fan, you don’t have much time for anything else. The jam-packed month starts promptly on August 1, as the UFC makes their return to Versus on August 1st. Universally regarded as one of the best prospects in the sport, Jon “Bones” Jones headlines his second consecutive Versus event, this time facing the experienced Vladimir Matyushenko. While some have called for Jones to be fast-tracked to championship contention, the crafty former IFL champion is another legitimate litmus test for the recently-turned 23-year-old.
Read the rest of the preview here. The 5 Biggest Threats to Brock Lesnar’s Belt Posted by Staff (07/16/2010 @ 7:00 am) Despite defeating Shane Carwin in UFC 116, Brock Lesnar nearly was knocked out in the fight’s opening round. Did Carwin prove that the heavyweight champion’s game is flawed? Nate Lawson of Heavy.com breaks down the five biggest threats to Lesnar’s heavyweight belt, including Cain Velasquez. Cain Velasquez Heavy MMA HW Rank: 4 Record: 8-0 Last Five Fights: W-W-W-W-W Notable Victories: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (KO), Ben Rothwell (TKO) Notable Losses: None Next Opponent: Brock Lesnar for UFC heavyweight championship, date undecided Status: Velasquez has risen to the top of the heavyweight division in a relatively short time and was put on the shelf awaiting the winner of Lesnar vs. Carwin. Lesnar took home the victory and the belt, and now Velasquez has the next shot at stealing away Lesnar’s hardware.
To read the rest of the breakdown of Velasquez, as well as the other four threats to Lesnar’s belt, click here. |