Junior Dos Santos has yet to encounter trouble in the UFC. The towering Brazilian has utilized his boxing, and little else, to dispatch his eight UFC foes with ease. His punching proficiency shines in the octagon.
Junior comes into his May 26 championship bout with Frank Mir as the strong favorite. His betting line is listed at -550 on 5dimes.com, meaning a risk of $550 on Junior will win the wagerer only $100.
Unlike many of his peers, Dos Santos is almost unanimously liked. The gentle giant defuses trash talkers with his disarming demeanor and sweetness, a contrast to some of his fellow UFC champs; polarizing characters like Jon Jones and Anderson Silva.
With his sparkling track record in mind, many are hailing Dos Santos as the man to clean out the division, just as many thought Cain Velasquez would do the same.
In fact, many thought Brock Lesnar would hold the belt for a long time, too.
See a trend?
One thing that UFC history has taught us is that the heavyweight belt tends to get around. The coveted gold has yet to be defended more than three times by the same man, and no more than two times consecutively. The heavyweight division has yet to see a true “dominator”.
“Dominance” is a word we like to associate with fighters. Who’s the most dominant heavyweight champ of all time? Given how often the strap changes waists, can the word “dominant” really be used to describe any UFC heavyweight champion?
Sure it can.
Here’s a ranking of the past seven UFC heavyweight champs based on their “dominance” in the UFC.
Quantifying “dominance” is subjective. Since no heavyweight has an outstanding number of title defenses, title defenses aren’t the most important variable here.