UFC on FOX 13 Aftermath: Junior dos Santos wins slugfest, but at what price?

Maybe it was the sound of Joe Rogan’s frank talk with Brendan Schaub about brain trauma echoing in the background.

Maybe it’s because we’ve already seen Junior dos Santos endure brutal battles well into the championship rounds.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that even in beating Stipe Miocic in what was an undeniably compelling slugfest Saturday night, all the former UFC heavyweight champion really did was stand his ground as the No. 2 guy in the division (Yes, technically, Fabricio Werdum is interim champion, but JDS is the second-best guy at 265).

Most likely, all of the above reasons play into why it’s difficult to find too much joy in dos Santos’ unanimous decision win over Miocic in the main event of UFC on FOX 13 in Phoenix, even if you acknowledge that the bout itself was as gripping as any you’ll ever see.

That’s because you simply can’t ignore the aftermath of the fight. Anyone who’s had the pleasure of meeting dos Santos in person can tell you he’s one of the nicest, most happy-go-lucky people you’ll stumble upon during your time on this planet. That makes it increasingly difficult to watch dos Santos, in fight after fight, get involved in dogfights, and come out of it looking like the victim of a violent crime.

If there was a feasible path back to the heavyweight championship, we’d at least be able to justify JDS’ bumps and bruises as building toward something. But we know, deep down, that he’s basically stuck where he is. The door is slammed on a fourth match with Cain Velasquez, he’s 11-0 against non-Cains in UFC competition, and it’s not like 205 is a reasonable option.

No one in their right mind is ever going to question dos Santos’ heart, courage, or valor. But he’s basically an MMA boxer who is going to stick with his bread and butter as long as its lasts. He’s a dog just old enough that he’s not going to learn many more new tricks. And as strong as dos Santos dish it out, there are only so many championship-round slugfests a fighter can endure before the downside is reached.

UFC on FOX 13 quotes

“Of course everybody goes back to [Paul] Daley. ‘You kicked Daley out for that.’ The difference is this: when Daley did it to Koscheck, I was in there, and I went up to Daley because he was getting pulled around, and he didn’t care. He didn’t give a s**t. He looked right at me and said he didn’t care. As soon as [Claudia Gadelha] did it to [Joanna Jedrzejczyk], she reached her hand out and she apologized to her. She said ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’ She apologized.” – UFC president Dana White on the postfight scuffle after the women’s strawweight fight.

“I’m not like these other guys who pull out of fights due to little baby injuries, you know? The other fighters are breaking hands and little baby toes and pulling out of every fight. I’ve been injured for 10-15 fights, but regardless to what happens is, I’m going to show up and do what I can do.” – Nate Diaz, to MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani.

“He wants to make more money, yet he keeps doing things to make himself lose money, which doesn’t make sense to me at all. I think Nate is in this position where he needs to go home, heal up, and decide what he wants to do. Does he want to get serious and come in here and try to take a run? Or does he want to retire?” – White, on Diaz.

Stock report

Up: Rafael dos Anjos In this day and age where ability to sell yourself on the mic seems more valued than what you do in the cage, it’s gratifying to watch a fighter force his way into the equation. Dos Anjos fired on all cylinders against Diaz, and it’s a tribute to Diaz’s Stockton toughness that RDA didn’t get the finish. That’s three straight wins, including a knockout of former champ Ben Henderson, and eight in his past nine fights. The loss, of course, was the Khabib Nurmagomedov. But with Nurmy injured, the door is open for dos Anjos to get the shot at Anthony Pettis‘ lightweight title. Nurmagomedov will have his day. In the meantime, you’ve got to feel good for dos Anjos, who has plugged away in the UFC since 2008 and actually lost his first two UFC fights before turning things around.

Down: Nate Diaz. Playing the role of the rebel who flips two middle fingers at the system only works so long as you’re winning your fights. After sitting out for more than a year, Diaz made a spectacle of himself this week, skipped an open workout, missed weight, and then went out and found himself on the wrong end of an ass-kicking from RDA. That’s three losses in his past four fights. Even with such a record, the UFC isn’t likely to cut Diaz loose, since he’d draw big ratings in Bellator against easier competition. So Diaz has to decide, is his heart still into fighting? If the answer is yes, then it’s time to stop griping and get serious.

Up: Jamie Varner. Why is Varner up after his fourth straight loss? Because he had the good sense to get out at the right time. Varner fought an exciting, borderline reckless, crowd pleasing style, and it was starting to catch up to him at age 30. Every time it seemed like Varner was getting it back together, an injury struck. As it is, Varner’s place in history is secure, as he was champion in the fondly remembered WEC, and he provided the most memorable moments on the card several nights during his career. That’s a solid legacy to leave.

Down: Claudia Gadelha. Everything was set up for Gadelha to get her grudge match for the UFC strawweight title. Rival Carla Esparza, whom Gadelha was twice scheduled to face in Invicta, had won the championship on Friday night. But Gadelha did just enough wrong in an odd fight with Joanna Jerdzejczyk to open the door for her opponent to claim a disputed split decision. Gadelha got sloppy in the first round, for example, and Jerdzejcyzyk stole the round and nearly won the fight late with a huge uppercut. I personally scored the fight 29-28 for Gadelha, but there’s no denying she did just enough wrong for JJ to steal the decision. That’s not the type of performance you want to see from someone with a clear path to a title shot.

Up: Henry Cejudo. I can’t lie: I had not seen Cejudo fight previously and just assumed that his offense against Dustin Kimura would pretty much be all wrestling-based. Boy, was I wrong. Cejudo looked like an advanced striker against Kimura, fluidly mixing up his strikes and leaving Kimura bloody and bruised after a 15-minute onslaught. Cejudo’s asking to go back down to 125. I’m skeptical, given his history, but if he can pull it off, it’s a little scary to think what Cejudo could do with a size advantage.

Up: Stipe Miocic. The latest example of gaining in defeat. I scored the bout for Miocic, giving him rounds 1, 2, and 5. I’m also not going to argue with anyone who scored the bout 48-47 for dos Santos, since so many of the rounds were close. But regardless of how you scored it, Miocic stepped up in a big way against his toughest opposition and proved his name belongs in the elite of the heavyweight division.

Interesting calls

We had a pair of incidents at UFC on FOX 13 which exemplify, on both ends of the equation, that you follow the referee’s instructions on when to start fighting and when to stop, and do so to the letter. In the case of Willie Gates vs. John Moraga, referee Jason Herzog clearly told both fighters to continue fighting. Gates immediately pounced on Moraga, who was continuing to back away. Gates is 100 percent in the clear here. Once the ref says to fight, the fight is on. If you need to find fault in this situation, look at the fact that Herzog handed it a bit awkwardly. Then there was the postfight exchange between Gadelha and Jedrzejczyk. While this has been portrayed in some circles as Gadelha being entirely at fault, fact is, JJ hit Gadelha first, and did so after the horn and after the referee stepped between the two. That doesn’t absolve Gadelha in any way for escalating matters, but nor is it likely she would have stuck Jedrzejczyk if she hadn’t been struck first.

Fight when the referee tells you to; don’t fight after he stops things. Seems simple enough.

Fight I’d like to see next: Stipe Miocic vs. Travis Browne

There’s a tangled web at the top of the heavyweight division. Champion Velasquez is injured. Dos Santos is the second-best fighter in the division, but has lost twice, and badly, to the champ. Werdum is the interim champ and presumably waiting on his title shot with Cain. They could go to a dos Santos-Werdum rematch if Velasquez is out long, one which would be a solid draw based on their first fight, but that would risk JDS winning the interim belt and a fourth Velasquez-dos Santos fight few wish to see.

So, while I understand the UFC likes to match out fighters coming off wins against each other, and fighters coming off losses, I think Miocic vs. Browne might make sense. Browne, having lost to Werdum, was rehabbed with a win over Schaub. Miocic’s stock is up despite his loss. The winner of this fight would stated his case for another crack at the fighters in the Big Three while the guys at the top sort out their own mess.

Maybe it was the sound of Joe Rogan’s frank talk with Brendan Schaub about brain trauma echoing in the background.

Maybe it’s because we’ve already seen Junior dos Santos endure brutal battles well into the championship rounds.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that even in beating Stipe Miocic in what was an undeniably compelling slugfest Saturday night, all the former UFC heavyweight champion really did was stand his ground as the No. 2 guy in the division (Yes, technically, Fabricio Werdum is interim champion, but JDS is the second-best guy at 265).

Most likely, all of the above reasons play into why it’s difficult to find too much joy in dos Santos’ unanimous decision win over Miocic in the main event of UFC on FOX 13 in Phoenix, even if you acknowledge that the bout itself was as gripping as any you’ll ever see.

That’s because you simply can’t ignore the aftermath of the fight. Anyone who’s had the pleasure of meeting dos Santos in person can tell you he’s one of the nicest, most happy-go-lucky people you’ll stumble upon during your time on this planet. That makes it increasingly difficult to watch dos Santos, in fight after fight, get involved in dogfights, and come out of it looking like the victim of a violent crime.

If there was a feasible path back to the heavyweight championship, we’d at least be able to justify JDS’ bumps and bruises as building toward something. But we know, deep down, that he’s basically stuck where he is. The door is slammed on a fourth match with Cain Velasquez, he’s 11-0 against non-Cains in UFC competition, and it’s not like 205 is a reasonable option.

No one in their right mind is ever going to question dos Santos’ heart, courage, or valor. But he’s basically an MMA boxer who is going to stick with his bread and butter as long as its lasts. He’s a dog just old enough that he’s not going to learn many more new tricks. And as strong as dos Santos dish it out, there are only so many championship-round slugfests a fighter can endure before the downside is reached.

UFC on FOX 13 quotes

“Of course everybody goes back to [Paul] Daley. ‘You kicked Daley out for that.’ The difference is this: when Daley did it to Koscheck, I was in there, and I went up to Daley because he was getting pulled around, and he didn’t care. He didn’t give a s**t. He looked right at me and said he didn’t care. As soon as [Claudia Gadelha] did it to [Joanna Jedrzejczyk], she reached her hand out and she apologized to her. She said ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’ She apologized.” – UFC president Dana White on the postfight scuffle after the women’s strawweight fight.

“I’m not like these other guys who pull out of fights due to little baby injuries, you know? The other fighters are breaking hands and little baby toes and pulling out of every fight. I’ve been injured for 10-15 fights, but regardless to what happens is, I’m going to show up and do what I can do.” – Nate Diaz, to MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani.

“He wants to make more money, yet he keeps doing things to make himself lose money, which doesn’t make sense to me at all. I think Nate is in this position where he needs to go home, heal up, and decide what he wants to do. Does he want to get serious and come in here and try to take a run? Or does he want to retire?” – White, on Diaz.

Stock report

Up: Rafael dos Anjos In this day and age where ability to sell yourself on the mic seems more valued than what you do in the cage, it’s gratifying to watch a fighter force his way into the equation. Dos Anjos fired on all cylinders against Diaz, and it’s a tribute to Diaz’s Stockton toughness that RDA didn’t get the finish. That’s three straight wins, including a knockout of former champ Ben Henderson, and eight in his past nine fights. The loss, of course, was the Khabib Nurmagomedov. But with Nurmy injured, the door is open for dos Anjos to get the shot at Anthony Pettis‘ lightweight title. Nurmagomedov will have his day. In the meantime, you’ve got to feel good for dos Anjos, who has plugged away in the UFC since 2008 and actually lost his first two UFC fights before turning things around.

Down: Nate Diaz. Playing the role of the rebel who flips two middle fingers at the system only works so long as you’re winning your fights. After sitting out for more than a year, Diaz made a spectacle of himself this week, skipped an open workout, missed weight, and then went out and found himself on the wrong end of an ass-kicking from RDA. That’s three losses in his past four fights. Even with such a record, the UFC isn’t likely to cut Diaz loose, since he’d draw big ratings in Bellator against easier competition. So Diaz has to decide, is his heart still into fighting? If the answer is yes, then it’s time to stop griping and get serious.

Up: Jamie Varner. Why is Varner up after his fourth straight loss? Because he had the good sense to get out at the right time. Varner fought an exciting, borderline reckless, crowd pleasing style, and it was starting to catch up to him at age 30. Every time it seemed like Varner was getting it back together, an injury struck. As it is, Varner’s place in history is secure, as he was champion in the fondly remembered WEC, and he provided the most memorable moments on the card several nights during his career. That’s a solid legacy to leave.

Down: Claudia Gadelha. Everything was set up for Gadelha to get her grudge match for the UFC strawweight title. Rival Carla Esparza, whom Gadelha was twice scheduled to face in Invicta, had won the championship on Friday night. But Gadelha did just enough wrong in an odd fight with Joanna Jerdzejczyk to open the door for her opponent to claim a disputed split decision. Gadelha got sloppy in the first round, for example, and Jerdzejcyzyk stole the round and nearly won the fight late with a huge uppercut. I personally scored the fight 29-28 for Gadelha, but there’s no denying she did just enough wrong for JJ to steal the decision. That’s not the type of performance you want to see from someone with a clear path to a title shot.

Up: Henry Cejudo. I can’t lie: I had not seen Cejudo fight previously and just assumed that his offense against Dustin Kimura would pretty much be all wrestling-based. Boy, was I wrong. Cejudo looked like an advanced striker against Kimura, fluidly mixing up his strikes and leaving Kimura bloody and bruised after a 15-minute onslaught. Cejudo’s asking to go back down to 125. I’m skeptical, given his history, but if he can pull it off, it’s a little scary to think what Cejudo could do with a size advantage.

Up: Stipe Miocic. The latest example of gaining in defeat. I scored the bout for Miocic, giving him rounds 1, 2, and 5. I’m also not going to argue with anyone who scored the bout 48-47 for dos Santos, since so many of the rounds were close. But regardless of how you scored it, Miocic stepped up in a big way against his toughest opposition and proved his name belongs in the elite of the heavyweight division.

Interesting calls

We had a pair of incidents at UFC on FOX 13 which exemplify, on both ends of the equation, that you follow the referee’s instructions on when to start fighting and when to stop, and do so to the letter. In the case of Willie Gates vs. John Moraga, referee Jason Herzog clearly told both fighters to continue fighting. Gates immediately pounced on Moraga, who was continuing to back away. Gates is 100 percent in the clear here. Once the ref says to fight, the fight is on. If you need to find fault in this situation, look at the fact that Herzog handed it a bit awkwardly. Then there was the postfight exchange between Gadelha and Jedrzejczyk. While this has been portrayed in some circles as Gadelha being entirely at fault, fact is, JJ hit Gadelha first, and did so after the horn and after the referee stepped between the two. That doesn’t absolve Gadelha in any way for escalating matters, but nor is it likely she would have stuck Jedrzejczyk if she hadn’t been struck first.

Fight when the referee tells you to; don’t fight after he stops things. Seems simple enough.

Fight I’d like to see next: Stipe Miocic vs. Travis Browne

There’s a tangled web at the top of the heavyweight division. Champion Velasquez is injured. Dos Santos is the second-best fighter in the division, but has lost twice, and badly, to the champ. Werdum is the interim champ and presumably waiting on his title shot with Cain. They could go to a dos Santos-Werdum rematch if Velasquez is out long, one which would be a solid draw based on their first fight, but that would risk JDS winning the interim belt and a fourth Velasquez-dos Santos fight few wish to see.

So, while I understand the UFC likes to match out fighters coming off wins against each other, and fighters coming off losses, I think Miocic vs. Browne might make sense. Browne, having lost to Werdum, was rehabbed with a win over Schaub. Miocic’s stock is up despite his loss. The winner of this fight would stated his case for another crack at the fighters in the Big Three while the guys at the top sort out their own mess.