If you’re one of those death-defying gamblers who have nothing better to do than burn money, count your winnings.
Nobody could have guessed, or imagined, that Cain Velasquez would lay an absolute beatdown on Junior dos Santos for five straight rounds at UFC 155.
It was like watching a train derail off of its tracks. It was hard to watch and difficult to understand but was absolutely something that your eyes needed to witness.
Whatever the reason may be for dos Santos producing such an erratic dud on Saturday night, the future is still bright. People are going to make a case for him being overrated and one-dimensional with his boxing, but the fact of the matter is that he’s still the only fighter to ever stop Velasquez in his tracks.
Sure, the new champion got his revenge in a fashion similar to guerrilla warfare, but Velasquez was simply unable to finish dos Santos. The fact that JDS wasn’t finished speaks wonders of his heart and his dedication to the sport.
Not to mention, his chin resembled that of fellow Brazilian Fabio Maldonado.
In any case, despite being thrown around like one of those old wrestler pillows that you used to drop elbows on when you were 10 years old, dos Santos’ career is not in jeopardy. He’s still the guy who deciphered Shane Carwin, Frank Mir, Roy Nelson and Fabricio Werdum. He’s still the guy who won his first nine UFC fights, finishing seven of them in the process.
Whichever way you look at it, this loss is not going to hinder the progress and potential of JDS heading into the future. Fighters often have one fight in their careers that puts their focus and ability into perspective.
This loss to Velasquez is exactly that for dos Santos.
It’s going to make him a stronger fighter, one that is truly focused on revenge and recapturing UFC glory, which is a mentality that has done wonders in the past for some of the best fighters in the world. Velasquez is a perfect example.
So while people will pick apart dos Santos’ game heading into any fight that he has in the future and hint on the notion that once he’s taken down, he’ll never recover, that’s something that I wouldn’t take to heart. It’s simply a belief that should be dumped on your french fries with the other grains of salt.
For what it’s worth, “Cigano” is still at that age when fixing your problems as a fighter could translate into another title run. As long as he can keep his focus, work on his grappling skills and wait in the wings for the loser of Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio Silva, JDS will be back for another shot at Velasquez by the end of 2013.
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