For a heavyweight trilogy to play out like it did, maybe Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos wasn’t really a trilogy to begin with.
The first encounter was so short and abrupt that it almost escapes the mind when you look at Velasquez’s body of work o…
For a heavyweight trilogy to play out like it did, maybe Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos wasn’t really a trilogy to begin with.
The first encounter was so short and abrupt that it almost escapes the mind when you look at Velasquez’s body of work over the last 10 rounds.
He’s dominated JDS from start to finish, taking him down at will, exhausting him before the championship rounds, making his face look like mashed potatoes and keeping the belt around his own waist.
So even thought it’s going to seem as if their rivalry—if you can call it that—was a trilogy, looking at the champ’s accomplishments last night and in the past should take precedence over all.
Here are the pivotal moments from UFC 166‘s main event showdown and why Velasquez ultimately separated himself from “Cigano” in the record books.
On Saturday night, UFC 166 presented us with the much-anticipated third showdown between reigning heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and the only man who has beaten him, Junior dos Santos.
In the final chapter of the trilogy, Velasquez quic…
On Saturday night, UFC 166 presented us with the much-anticipated third showdown between reigning heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and the only man who has beaten him, Junior dos Santos.
In the final chapter of the trilogy, Velasquez quickly put to rest any doubts as to whether the Brazilian was capable of taking his title again, as the 31-year-old thoroughly dominated JDS in Houston.
Now with consecutive victories over his closest challenger, Velasquez has cemented his status as the undisputed best heavyweight in the world, and we don’t need to see a fourth bout between these two to be sure of that.
Had this fight been a closely contested affair, I would have been on board with the scheduling of a fourth tilt between arguably the sport’s two best heavyweights.
But it wasn’t, and as MMA Fighting’s Dave Doyle said prior to the fight, a lopsided bout would all but erase any need for a fourth clash.
A close decision Saturday night, or a back-and-forth slugfest that goes into the late rounds before one guy finishes it, would do nothing to dissuade the notion that these guys are Nos. 1 and 2. If you care about UFC titles meaning something from a true sporting perspective, and the two clearly demonstrate they’re still heads and tails above the rest of the pack, then I don’t say how you can deny an eventual fourth fight.
That’s not even necessarily implying a title rematch should be immediate. The route the UFC took to get back to the Cain-JDS trilogy fight, in which both took bouts in the interim, was sensible. While Fabricio Werdum has a case for the next title shot, I personally think the Josh Barnett-Travis Browne winner has a better case. Either way, other than a second straight blowout win for Cain, I don’t think there are any good reasons why the series shouldn’t eventually continue.
Unless someone really believes that Dos Santos stands a reasonable chance at knocking off the champion, why should they face each other again? There’s no sense in getting Velasquez to beat up on the 29-year-old again, especially after we saw him pummel him more decisively in their most recent meeting.
In addition, while it’s true that JDS’ 2011 victory over Velasquez will always cause us to wonder whether history might repeat itself, it now seems evident that the champ’s shoulder injury had a lot to do with him being knocked out in Round 1. That fight looked nothing like the two that followed.
Since the loss, Velasquez has reeled off two masterful performances against Dos Santos, so much so that the outcome of Saturday night’s fight was never in doubt once it began.
At this point, Fabricio Werdum is a much better choice for Velasquez’s next opponent, and not just because it’ll be a breath of fresh air for UFC enthusiasts. After seeing how easily Velasquez dismantled Dos Santos, one has to wonder whether Werdum would provide him with more of a challenge.
Yes, Werdum fell to Dos Santos in 2008, but since then, he’s come out on top over a number of impressive opponents, including Antonio Silva, Roy Nelson and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, so there’s at least a possibility of an upset.
Dos Santos will go down as one of the best of this era, and he’s the only man to have defeated the champion to date, but UFC 166 highlighted the gap between the two in terms of ability.
Velasquez attacked him all night long, and his stingy defense more than made up for Dos Santos’ advantage as far as power goes, as it did during their second meeting.
We now know who the better fighter is between them, so there’s no need for them to meet in the Octagon again.
Not much can be said about Cain Velasquez that wasn’t spilled with blood on Saturday night at UFC 166, as a titanic heavyweight trilogy came to a screeching halt.
The bottom line is that the baddest man on the planet showcased the skills that left Juni…
Not much can be said about Cain Velasquez that wasn’t spilled with blood on Saturday night at UFC 166, as a titanic heavyweight trilogy came to a screeching halt.
The bottom line is that the baddest man on the planet showcased the skills that left Junior dos Santos mangled in their second meeting en route to handing the Brazilian his first TKO loss of his lengthy career.
At times, it seemed as if the scientific training of “Cigano” was paying off, as he successfully defended takedowns and scrambled back to his feet, but the pressure of the champ was too overwhelming.
Like glue on paper, Dos Santos was unable to pry Velasquez off his body without absorbing major damage. Chalk it up to sheer heart, determination and will displayed by the best heavyweight in UFC history.
But what specifically helped fuel Velasquez’s decisive finish that proved more monumental than either outcome of the first two installments? Look no further for answers.
Striking
What made Velasquez’s striking even more fluent and prominent this time around is that he needed it.
After defending numerous takedown attempts by the champ, Dos Santos showed that he wasn’t going to flop to the mat like he did in the last bout. He clearly stepped up his training and displayed the balance, technique and will to keep this title bout standing.
So even though Velasquez wasn’t completely sharp and considerably outstanding in this grudge match, his timely execution of combinations, elbows, knees, kicks, body punches and mid-cage head work proved too much for a contender who prides himself on his elite hands.
Chin
Unlike the first fight that saw Velasquez get dropped in about a minute, he was able to withstand various shots thrown by JDS throughout all five rounds at UFC 166.
Whether it was against a quick barrage after the open bell or the punishing short elbows that followed, the champion’s chin has never looked better.
Sure, Dos Santos was depleted for the majority of the bout, but he’s still one of the best strikers in the world and never stopped winging shots.
While it was a victory for Velasquez’s pace and pressure in the end, it was also a serious accomplishment for a chin that has failed him in the past.
Clinch Work
Velasquez has always been an elite wrestler in the heavyweight division. It has been a huge catalyst for his success in the past and will continue to fuel his dominance heading forward.
However, in a fight where he couldn’t take his opponent down at will, his unrivaled clinch game ultimately sealed his fate.
For nearly five rounds, Velasquez stuck to Dos Santos’ hip, punishing him with combinations to the body, pestering knees to the thigh, dirty boxing up top and the always formidable threat of a takedown.
The champ’s efforts to stay inside took away from the contender’s ability to land crisp strikes and find his range. This frustrated and tired Dos Santos early, making this fight look more and more like the last one.
Cardio
For first-time viewers, hearing Joe Rogan say Velasquez outworks welterweights in the gym as the champ walked out to the cage must have been astonishing.
But after just a few minutes into Round 1, it was evident that the UFC color commentator was speaking the truth.
Now we’ve seen Velasquez’s conditioning reign supreme in the past, especially when he had to take away a striker’s bread and butter, but it’s so marvelous and unique that talking about it never gets old.
On Saturday night, when the outcome would spell his legacy, Velasquez never looked more promising. His pace was torrid, and his game plan was tactical.
What was a five-round war looked like a walk in the park for a man equipped with persistent heart and physical determination.
UFC 166 featured the third installment of Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Heading into the bout, it was thought that this might not be the last time the two would meet, and that they are classic rivals like Mu…
UFC 166 featured the third installment of Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Heading into the bout, it was thought that this might not be the last time the two would meet, and that they are classic rivals like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. I bought into that thinking too, because they are the top two heavyweights in the world.
They just aren’t rivals. This isn’t a competitive series. And nothing that happened at UFC 166 made me believe it will change.
The first fight was quick. Dos Santos caught Velasquez with a big shot and finished him. We didn’t get to see a real fight. It was just over in the blink of an eye. All credit goes to the heavy-handed Dos Santos, but it left questions to be answered in their second bout.
So, they met again after a Velasquez win over Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 146.
And Velasquez mugged Dos Santos.
He beat and battered him for 25 minutes. The UFC promotional line was how tough Dos Santos was in the fight. Velasquez couldn’t finish him, and maybe when they met again, Dos Santos would make the adjustments to make it a classic trilogy.
Nope.
The third installment was more of the same. Instead, Velasquez got the finish this time.
Entering UFC 166, there was a lot of talk about “Cigano’s” new techniques to avoid overtraining. That was why he got beat in the second meeting, right? No. He got beat because Velasquez is a superior fighter. By quite a bit.
If they meet for a fourth time, I cannot envision it going any other way. Either Dos Santos lands an early punch that ends the fight, or Velasquez dominates him. In either scenario, it is not a competitive fight. That is a problem.
Dos Santos has more opportunities for close fights. He has had entertaining bouts with numerous opponents.
Meanwhile, Velasquez massacres his competition. It is still fun to watch but in a different manner. With one fighter, we get fun fights. With the other, we get fun yet dominant performances.
The UFC wanted this to be a competitive trilogy. I wanted this to be a competitive rivalry too. It just didn’t happen. They may meet again, but don’t expect fireworks like we have seen with other trilogies and rivalries. Expect what we have already seen.
Perhaps sometime in the future, Velasquez will find a true foil—someone to rival him in fun, competitive bouts. Dos Santos just is not that man.
(Cain Velasquez may not kick like Anderson Silva, but his dominance over heavyweight will parallel Silva’s period of dominance over middleweight. / Photo via Getty)
After the events of UFC 166, the heavyweight division is now the UFC’s least thrilling.
Heavyweight is the new middleweight. That is to say that the heavyweight division under Cain Velasquez‘s brutal, face-rearranging reign will resemble the middleweight division under Anderson Silva during his peak — a boring division where no fighter is a threat to the champ. A division where everybody says, “Meh, who cares about who’s challenging for the heavyweight title? Cain is going to destroy him anyway.”
The only fighter to ever humble Cain Velasquez was Junior Dos Santos. But Dos Santos couldn’t repeat his success. Velasquez wrought terrible vengeance on the Brazilian in the rematch at UFC 155, and then again in the rubber match at UFC 166.
Earlier this year, I predicted that the UFC heavyweight division would become stagnant and dull:
Both men are insanely talented. But that’s the problem — they’re both so talented that the rest of the fighters in the division aren’t a match for them. The only challenge to Velasquez is Dos Santos. The only challenge to Dos Santos is Velasquez.
I was right and wrong.
(Cain Velasquez may not kick like Anderson Silva, but his dominance over heavyweight will parallel Silva’s period of dominance over middleweight. / Photo via Getty)
After the events of UFC 166, the heavyweight division is now the UFC’s least thrilling.
Heavyweight is the new middleweight. That is to say that the heavyweight division under Cain Velasquez‘s brutal, face-rearranging reign will resemble the middleweight division under Anderson Silva during his peak — a boring division where no fighter is a threat to the champ. A division where everybody says, “Meh, who cares about who’s challenging for the heavyweight title? Cain is going to destroy them anyway.”
The only fighter to ever humble Cain Velasquez was Junior Dos Santos. But Dos Santos couldn’t repeat his success. Velasquez wrought terrible vengeance on the Brazilian in the rematch at UFC 155, and then again in the rubber match at UFC 166.
Earlier this year, I predicted that the UFC heavyweight division would become stagnant and dull:
Both men are insanely talented. But that’s the problem — they’re both so talented that the rest of the fighters in the division aren’t a match for them. The only challenge to Velasquez is Dos Santos. The only challenge to Dos Santos is Velasquez.
I was right and wrong. Both men are talented. The rest of the division is no match for Dos Santos, but Dos Santos is clearly no match for Velasquez, their first fight notwithstanding. Thus, the future of the UFC heavyweight division is grim. Here’s how it’ll look:
Cain Velasquez destroys all comers — even Fabricio Werdum who, for some reason, people think is now a legitimate title contender. Velasquez will reduce Werdum to awkward, frustrated butt-scooting. The champ likely won’t have much of a problem with the other heavyweight hopefuls; none of them have answers for Velasquez’s wrestling, striking, and conditioning. Unfortunately, those same men probably don’t have an answer for Junior Dos Santos’ boxing acumen and power either.
The UFC heavyweight division in 2013 is analogous to the UFC middleweight division in 2006-7. Anderson Silva was the best guy. Rich Franklin was the next best guy and was better than everyone else besides Silva. The only problem? Silva brutalized Franklin so badly that discussing a rematch was asinine.
Now, just swap out Silva with Velasquez and Franklin with Dos Santos and you’ve got the post-UFC 166 heavyweight division. The excitement is gone. Everyone not named Junior Dos Santos will be fighting for the honor of being third-best, while Dos Santos himself will be fighting for the privilege of being Cain Velasquez’s eternal understudy.
UFC 166 provided a lot of talking points from the main card, but the early preliminary bouts set the tone for the evening.
The four Facebook preliminary bouts all ended in finishes, and two of those featured UFC newcomers. Andre Fili ca…
UFC 166provided a lot of talking points from the main card, but the early preliminary bouts set the tone for the evening.
The four Facebook preliminary bouts all ended in finishes, and two of those featured UFC newcomers. AndreFilicame in on short notice to defeat Jeremy Larsen by TKO in the second round, while formerShootoproductKyojiHoriguchiousted DustinPagueby second-round TKO.
These two newcomers made an impression, but what kind of upside do they have in their respective divisions? Let’s take a look.
Kyoji Horiguchi
Horiguchi is in the bantamweight division, but when he was a Shooto champion, it was at 132 pounds. He is an undersized bantamweight who may serve himself better by cutting to flyweight. Until he does, let’s assume he stays at 135.
Pague gave him some trouble in the first frame, and that’s not a great sign in a wrestling-rich division.
Horiguchi is only 23 years old. Thus, he has plenty of time to improve. Wrestling has to be a point of emphasis in this division. It’s key.
His hands were solid, and he possesses some good power in his mitts.
For such a young kid, he has plenty of upside, but I don’t view him as a potential contender yet. Stylistically, he does not match up well with the rest of the division. If he can add some more tools, we can re-evaluate his prospects at bantamweight.
Andre Fili
Fili is also a 23-year-old stud, but he competes in the featherweight division.
He came in highly touted, and it is easy to see why. He performed very well in his UFC debut. Larsen isn’t a top-level talent, but he has UFC experience against quality opposition. Fili tore right through him.
The biggest advantage for Fili is his team, as he is a member of Team Alpha Male. Unlike his teammates, he is not a wrestling-based fighter. His striking will improve under Duane Ludwig, but his work alongside Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez and Chad Mendes will boost his wrestling ability. That makes him a good prospect to watch.
The featherweight division is stacked. That will be Fili’s biggest issue to overcome. Even if he wins a couple of bouts to move close to the top 15 of the division, he will run into the killers of the weight class. That’s how potent 145 is.
If the UFC allows Fili to grow slowly, then it will reap the benefits later. He has a high ceiling, but he needs time to season. And at 23 years old, he has time to do so if the UFC books him properly.
On Saturday night, 
