Even with Junior Dos Santos’ striking ability, even with his 13-1 MMA record, he was a 2-to-1 underdog to defending heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez on Saturday in Anaheim.
Then he showed Velasquez it was he who should have been feared.
All dos Santos did in the title fight on Saturday was win via TKO in 1:04 against a man in Velasquez who was widely considered virtually unbeatable.
Coming into the fight, Velasquez had a 9-0 MMA record and was coming off a thunderous TKO of Brock Lesnar in October 2010.
But dos Santos has shown time and time again that his right hand can be absolutely devastating, and he hit Velasquez square on the temple on Saturday.
Velasquez, who apologized to the crowd for his performance after the fight, said he was dazed after the hit, and it became clear quickly after he fell to the mat that he was done for.
Dos Santos, who was one of the coaches in the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, lived up to his billing as one of the best heavyweight fighters in the world and we now have someone who can legitimately provide a challenge to Velasquez. In fact, we have someone who can beat him.
It’s a game-changer in the UFC. As one-sided a fight as it was between Velasquez and Dos Santos, it’s actually a godsend for a sport that really didn’t need one.
MMA is growing faster than any other sport in the world, and now it has two legendary heavyweights who could rival some of boxing’s greatest bouts.
The UFC, which debuted on cable television on Saturday on Fox, just got a whole new legion of followers who can’t wait for the next fight between Dos Santos and Velasquez.
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