Tag: Junior dos Santos

Bleacher Report’s Jeffrey McKinney:

How do you know you have just witnessed a bad judge’s decision?

One sign could be when the winner of the fight is disappointed it actually went his way.

That was Darren Elkins’ reaction when he faced Michihiro Omigawa in the opening bout of UFC 131.

In the first round of the fight, Elkins and Omigawa went back and forth trading punches. Elkins got the better of Omigawa in some of the exchanges and was able to score a takedown. It was a close round that Elkins could have won.  

The second and third rounds saw both fighters standing and trading once again. Omigawa was able to get the better the exchanges though, landing punches that bloodied the Indiana native.

It was a close fight, but Omigawa pushed the pace and landed more damaging punches.

Omigawa was looking to finally get his first win inside the Octagon after three prior failed tries. Instead, he gets his third straight loss thanks to poor judging.

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MMA News: Junior Dos Santos Opens as a Slight Betting Favorite over Cain Velasquez

Bleacher Report’s Nick Caron:

With Junior dos Santos’ crushing victory over Shane Carwin in the UFC 131 main event, we have now found out that not only is he next in line to fight Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight title, but he is also already being listed as a slight betting favorite.

According to BetonFighting’s Nick Kalikas, the challenger is listed as a -125 favorite over the champion who will be a -105 underdog.

While these numbers are only preliminary and are so close that it could easily flop over in the other direction for Velasquez, it is interesting to note that just a few months ago, the champion was listed as a heavy favorite in a fight that never ended up happening.

But since that time, Velasquez has not fought and has been recovering from surgery while dos Santos has now defeated another top challenger with seemingly relative ease.

While it is not common for a challenger to be listed as a favorite over the reigning champion, it is not the first time that we have seen this type of situation with the odds-makers. In fact, just earlier this year, Jon Jones was listed as a favorite as a challenger for Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s UFC light heavyweight title.

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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

MMA News: UFC 131 Bonuses: $70,000 Extra for Weidman, Stout, Herman and Einemo

Bleacher Report’s Nick Caron:

The UFC put on one of their most entertaining fight cards in recent memory tonight as they invaded Vancouver for UFC 131: dos Santos vs. Carwin. According to MMAWeekly, the UFC handed out big, $70,000 pay checks that likely far surpassed the fight purses of the four fighters receiving them tonight.

While the main event between which saw Junior dos Santos edge out Shane Carwin for a unanimous judge’s decision, it was actually some undercard fights which were perhaps the most entertaining and impressive for the fans in attendance and watching on television or online.

Chris Weidman, fighting in just his second UFC fight, earned the Submission of the Night bonus with his second-round guillotine choke on Jesse Bongfeldt in the final seconds of the round. We later found out that he had injured his meniscus in the fight, but the 26-year old battled through and finished the fight.

In what can’t be much of a surprise, Sam Stout earned the Knockout of the Night bonus with his thunderous left hook that completely knocked Yves Edwards unconscious. Edwards’ head bounced off the canvas like a basketball and Stout knew it was all over with just that one punch. This will be his sixth fight bonus since joining the UFC in 2006.

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MMA News:  Kenny Florian Overpowers Diego Nunes in UFC 131 Featherweight Debut

Bleacher Report’s Scott Harris:

Immediately after his featherweight debut at UFC 131, Kenny Florian admitted that cutting down to 145 pounds was “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Observers would never know it from his performance in the cage, however, as Florian used every bit of his size and experience to wear down and vanquish young prospect Diego Nunes by unanimous decision.

Looking lanky but not emaciated, Florian entered the cage with four- and seven-inch advantages over Nunes in height and reach, respectively.

Nunes came out on fire, displaying impressive hand speed and scoring the first clean takedown of the fight. However, with the exception of the big left hands he landed at the end of the first and third rounds, Nunes was unable to exact any considerable damage on the UFC veteran.

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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