Tag: Dana White

UFC 131 Results: 3 Fights Donald Cerrone Could Take Next

Bleacher Report’s Jeffrey McKinney

UFC 131 Results: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Will Be War for the Ages

Bleacher Report’s Jake Martin:

Junior dos Santos battered Shane Carwin last night in a unanimous decision victory to secure a title shot against the champion Cain Velasquez later this year, in what has the potential to be one of the greatest title fights in UFC history.

I haven’t been this excited to see a heavyweight fight since the Pride days of Mirko Cro Cop squaring off against Fedor Emelianenko. Dos Santos had a brilliant performance last night as he kept Carwin at bay with that precise jab, hurt him with some good combinations and handled Carwin’s takedown attempts very well.

Finally, the heavyweight showdown of the century is set up and unless an injury prevents these two from fighting each other again, they should battle it out in October or November.

I always envisioned these two fighting each other on a grand stage since they first entered the UFC and ran through the heavyweight division. They ripped through opponent after opponent, and the UFC did a brilliant job of never matching up these two promising contenders.

Now they will fight for the for the title. We witnessed both fighters go from exciting prospect to contender to the elite of the division. As far as buys, this might not bring in the large number of PPV buys that a Brock Lesnar fight would, but fight fans couldn’t ask for a more exciting matchup. Both are looked at as the elite of the division, and with the exception of Strikeforce Champion Alistair Overeem, the two have the best striking ability in MMA at heavyweight.

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UFC 131 Results: 4 Fights Demian Maia Should Take to Rebound

Bleacher Report’s Sean Smith:

Despite losing to Mark Munoz at UFC 131, Demian Maia may have taken a step forward in his MMA career. During the fight, Maia showed much improved striking, which has been his Achilles heel since he came into the UFC.

Maia will now have to try to get a new winning streak going in order to get back in the mix for getting a shot at the middleweight title, but that shouldn’t be a problem as long as his stand-up game continues to progress like it has.

Here are the four most likely fights that Maia could take next in order to get back on a winning track.

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 131, including the latest UFC 131 Results, Fight Card Analysis,  UFC 131 News, and Live Reaction, from Vancouver.

UFC 131 Results: Power Ranking the Top 5 Heavyweights In UFC

Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells

With UFC 131 in the history books, the future of the heavyweight division became a little more clear with Junior dos Santos retaining his spot as the No. 1 contender for Cain Velasquez’ championship.

Dos Santos’ three-round destruction of Shane Carwin moved his record to 13-1, 7-0 in UFC. The win over Carwin was by far the biggest of his career, and now he has to take on the top heavyweight in all of mixed martial arts.

Carwin, meanwhile, has lost two consecutive fights and hasn’t looked good since the last minute of the first-round of his fight with Brock Lesnar. With his lackluster performance against dos Santos, he has a long climb back up the ladder in the heavyweight division.

So which fighters are the best of the best in the UFC heavyweight division? Here are the top 5 heavyweights following last night’s event.

 

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 131, including the latest UFC 131 Results, Fight Card Analysis,  UFC 131 News, and Live Reaction, from Vancouver.

UFC 131 Results Video: Cain Velasquez Could Be Back in October or November

Bleacher Report’s Nick Caron:

At UFC 131, the UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez finally found out who he will be fighting when he gets back in the cage after his surgery rehab. It will be Junior “Cigano” dos Santos, who defeated Shane Carwin in tonight’s main event.

Velasquez was in attendance and participated in a short interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani where he spoke about what he saw in the first challenger for his title.

“He’s really good with his standup, he’s hard to take down, he has really good movement,” Velasquez said. “His whole standup, his boxing, is one of the best in the whole division, so I’m excited.”

Though he was impressed by dos Santos, he also had some kind words about the man who fell short in the bout, former interim champion Shane Carwin.

“I think [Carwin] needed to shoot a little more, but he’s a tough guy,” Velasquez critiqued. “He’s much improved from what we saw with Brock. He’s conditioning was up a little bit. He looked good out there, he’s a tough guy.”

With the roll that dos Santos is on, though, oddsmakers have already begun putting Velasquez as an underdog in the future fight between the two men. That won’t bother the champion, though, as he seems to have found some holes in Cigano’s game plan. He explained the type of fighter who he believes can cause dos Santos some problems.

“Someone who will keep him down longer and just throw a lot more punches and kicks, rather than just punches. I think we need to see that with him.”

Earlier in the week, UFC President Dana White revealed that Velasquez’s rehab was going a little slower than they had expected, but the champion doesn’t really feel like it’s quite that bad.

“I’m feeling really good,” he said. “They’re saying maybe October, November; so I’m looking to do that.”

“It all depends on how fast I can get back. I want to get back as soon as possible.”

 Click here to see the video.

 

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 131, including the latest UFC 131 Results, Fight Card Analysis,  UFC 131 News, and Live Reaction, from Vancouver.

UFC 131 Results: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

Bleacher Report’s Matthew Saccaro: