UFC on FOX Results – Dos Santos Pummels Velasquez
Posted by Drew Ellis (11/12/2011 @ 11:20 pm)
In the UFC’s anticipated debut on FOX, it didn’t take long for the inaugural fight to end.
Junior dos Santos won the UFC Heavyweight Championship in a little over a minute as he knocked out the champion, Cain Velasquez from the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Dos Santos came into the fight as the betting underdog, but a devastating right hand early in the first round caught the champion in the ear and sent him crashing.
With Velasquez’ equilibrium admittedly thrown off, dos Santos was able to finish the fight with a series of ground-and-pound strikes that left Velasquez face down in the octagon.
The Brazilian exploded with joy as he becomes the third Brazilian to hold a UFC title, joining middleweight champ Anderson Silva and featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo.
In the night’s co-main event, Ben Henderson earned a lightweight title shot against Frankie Edgar with his unanimous decision win over Clay Guida.
The contest was very competitive and neither man seemed to have an obvious superiority over the other, but Henderson was able to gain more dominant positions than Guida and he also exhibited more control during the fight.
For complete UFC on FOX 1 results, check out the jump.
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Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, News, UFC
Tags: Alistair Overeem, Ben Henderson, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Clay Guida, Frankie Edgar, Guida vs. Henderson, Junior dos Santos, MMA, UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
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