Heading into the big showdown with Cain Velasquez, many MMA pundits and peers of Junior's wondered if Dos Santos could hang with what many thought was the most complete heavyweight in all of MMA. Well, not only did Dos Santos hang with Cain, but he "shook up" the heavyweight division with a stunning 1st round KO that shocked the sport. Adding to the impressive win, was the fact that Dos Santos fought with a torn meniscus according to a Saturday November 12th report by MMAJunkie.com.
The opening moments of the fight saw both guys feeling each other out with minimal striking. Dos Santos saw the Cain was willing to stand in front of him and exchange. Junior came in with an overhand right that caught Velasquez behind his right ear and knocked him down. Junior pounced on Cain, forcing the ref to jump in and stop the fight at 1:04 of the opening round. In his post fight comments, Cain said that his equilibrium was rocked by Junior's punch.
And now, the UFC heavyweight division's equilibrium has been rocked. Roughly 13 months ago, Cain made short work of Brock Lesnar and appeared to be the top fighter in the division with a 9-0 record. Dubbed the "Terminator" by some, Cain had an awesome balance between striking and wrestling. However, coming into this fight, Cain had the clear advantage on the ground. Unfortunately, he never tried to take the fight to the ground.
Dos Santos is now 8-0 in the UFC and 14-1 overall. His striking abilities are superior to anyone else in the division. He showed what he could do in his previous fight against Carwin when he out punched a feared striker. Dos Santos is set to face the winner of Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem when they fight on December 30th, as long as Junior's knee doesn't require surgery.
One thing is for sure, the UFC heavyweight division is stacked with elite fighters who could win on any day. Dos Santos proved that one punch is all it takes to rock the entire sport.
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