Reliving Saturday’s historic UFC 166 event will never get old.
If it wasn’t the best event in history, as Dana White said following the conclusion of the thrilling card, it will certainly go down as one of the best. And if Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sa…
Reliving Saturday’s historic UFC 166 event will never get old.
If it wasn’t the best event in history, as Dana White said following the conclusion of the thrilling card, it will certainly go down as one of the best. And if Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez doesn’t rate on your best-fights-in-UFC-history list, well, there’s every chance in the world that someone else has it No. 1 with a bullet.
While we all wait patiently for the special edition Blu-ray to be released—and for repeated airings of UFC Unleashed—we can take a quick jaunt back in time and check out some of the action via the patented Fox Sports Phantom Cam.
The camera, in case you’ve been living under a rock, films the action at an exceedingly high frame rate in order to afford you an unprecedented look at all of the face-wiggling, skin-jiggling violence you can handle.
Another dominant win over Junior dos Santos for Cain Velasquez has left fans with just one question: Is Cain the best heavyweight in MMA history?
At UFC 166, the reigning heavyweight champ pushed his way into the record books by thrashing and stopping …
Another dominant win over Junior dos Santos for Cain Velasquez has left fans with just one question: Is Cain the best heavyweight in MMA history?
At UFC 166, the reigning heavyweight champ pushed his way into the record books by thrashing and stopping Dos Santos by TKO in the fifth round. With two defenses under his belt, Velasquez now ties the record for most consecutive UFC heavyweight title defenses with Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar.
In most weight classes, it would be deemed ludicrous to even consider basing a fighter’s all-time ranking off two title defenses, but the life expectancy for a UFC heavyweight champ is incredibly short.
Nearly every other division in the UFC has had at least one seeded star reign over the same weight class for years. UFC President Dana White is hopeful that the UFC may have finally found a true heavyweight king in Velasquez (h/t MMA H.E.A.T.’s Karyn Bryant):
I do (think Velasquez could hold onto the UFC title for a while). I truly believe Cain Velasquez is the best heavyweight in the world. I really haven’t (thought that about another heavyweight before). I always thought (the belt) was up for grabs and anybody could win.
The rivalry between Velasquez and Dos Santos has taken life over the past two years, but given the outcome of the last two bouts, the competitive gap between the heavyweights looks to be a large one.
For Velasquez, it isn’t simply the fact that he keeps winning, but instead that the MMA world is enamored by his continued dominance against consistently world-class opposition.
Many will likely feel like that the mere mention of anyone surpassing FedorEmelianenko in the all-time heavyweight ranks is blasphemous. The things that the former Pride heavyweight champ was able to accomplish in his prime were otherworldly.
Emelianenko went undefeated for a decade during an era when Pride Fighting Championships bolstered the best heavyweights in the world. The nostalgia and deep-seated anticipation of watching Emelianenko trek his way down the Pride ramp and step into the ring still holds a special place in the hearts of hardcore fans to this day.
People didn’t even care about the Pride heavyweight title as much as Emelianenko’s undefeated streak. His personal achievements and greatness surpassed that of even the world title, which epitomizes the apex of success in MMA.
How can two consecutive title defenses for Velasquez possibly surpass all of that?
This may come as a shock to most people, but despite all of Emelianenko’s heavyweight success, he only defended the Pride heavyweight title three times. One of the only knocks on his legendary career was the fact that he consistently fought lukewarm opposition. For every Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, there seemed to be a Zulu and EgidijusValavicius in between.
As a champion, there haven’t been any breaks or circus fights for Velasquez, who has faced nothing but the best heavyweights in the world. He has dominated tougher opponents on a more consistent basis than Emelianenko.
For Velasquez, it isn’t just about the record books. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to truly appreciate the kind of rare breed of heavyweight he represents. There has never been a heavyweight in MMA history with Velasquez’s conditioning.
Winning alone isn’t enough for Velasquez. He breaks fighters’ wills. It’s impossible to deny that he is a very special fighter, one whose name could one day rule the record books.
With that said, Emelianenko’s legacy still wins out on the all-time list. There is still plenty of ground to cover for Velasquez, a young champion just now hitting his stride. Perhaps it is more appropriate to make the claim that Velasquez is the best heavyweight in UFC history.
The UFC has had a vast array of heavyweight standouts, including Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar and Tim Sylvia. But none of them, Couture included, showed the kind of promise Velasquez has shown in ruling over the UFC’s division of behemoths.
Perhaps “The Last Emperor” may have finally found his successor.
If 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had been around to give Junior dos Santos a post-fight pep talk after the beating he took from Cain Velasquez, he might have said something like, “that which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
Th…
If 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had been around to give Junior dos Santos a post-fight pep talk after the beating he took from Cain Velasquez, he might have said something like, “that which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
The cliche may not always apply, but when a man, or woman, decides to try their hand at being a professional fighter—be it boxing, mixed martial arts, or some other permutation—for all intents and purposes, they know what they are getting themselves into. Whether or not they have enough personal clarity to know if they’re biting off more than they can chew is an entirely different matter.
Fighting, as a professional sport, provides fans of caged carnage with a moral dilemma in that we are essentially, for the purposes of entertainment, rooting for the expedited destruction of our fellow man.
UFC President Dana White appears to be aware of the fine line between rooting for violence—and enjoying it—and knowing when the action inside the Octagon has gone too far.
In the post-fight presser for Velasquez vs. dos Santos III, White goes from declaring UFC 166 “the greatest fight card in UFC history”—he is probably not far off there—to making sure people know he thought the main event should have been halted in the third round.
White was not the only man who thought the one-sided affair should have been stopped in the third frame. Or, at least, he appeared to be considering it, if only for a split second.
Referee Herb Dean moved in after Velasquez had dropped dos Santos for the second time in the round and was going in for the kill. Dean looked to put his hand on the back of the champ, but pulled back and let the action continue.
Dos Santos survived. And the mugging continued for one-and-a-half rounds more than many thought it should have.
Velasquez kept up his relentless pace until dos Santos was completely exhausted in the fifth and final round. The Brazilian striker desperately attempted a choke, but Cain shrugged him off, and he dropped down to the canvas floor hunched over. Dean, finally, was forced to put an end to the action.
There was one man who actually thought the fight had been stopped before the third round. That man was dos Santos himself.
According to a report from Fighters Only, dos Santos does not remember most of the UFC 166 fight with Velasquez. Afterwards, he was under the impression that he had been knocked out in the second round. His corner believes he fought from round two onwards “on autopilot.”
If you thought that having no memory would give dos Santos some pause about getting back in there and doing it all over again, guess again. Instead, he proclaimed, “Now it’s time to go back to the gym and train, dedicate myself to come back stronger than ever and, who knows, some day dispute the championship again and be able to honor the support from everybody who believed in me.”
Perhaps Nietzsche whispered in his ear after all.
In an editorial over at Yahoo! Sports, Elias Cepeda postulates that dos Santos was failed by those who were supposed to protect him at UFC 166.
Dean is singled out by name, but Cepeda believes there are several parties at fault: “But that doesn’t mean that his corner, the ring side doctors and the referee should allow him to take damage that will undoubtedly color his health in the years to come.”
“If you watch that third round again when he’s getting hit, his arms are [out]. He’s not defending himself, he doesn’t have his hands up. He’s out.”
“There’s no need for a young, talented guy to take that kind of punishment when he’s out on his feet,” White said. “I was kinda hoping somebody was going to throw the towel in or the ref would come stop it, or the doctor was going to stop it. One eye was closed, and the other was cut wide open. He was hurt.
“I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but I’m a believer. I always like to say that if anybody in his [expletive] corner cares about him, please, throw in that towel. I thought the fight was done in the third round. Is Junior dos Santos tough enough and does he have the heart to go through it? Yeah, but does that mean he should?” White went on.
“If you look at the fight, it ended in the fifth. That guy took seven, eight minutes more punishment that he didn’t need to take until it ended. That seven or eight minutes, I don’t know man. I just, I don’t like it.
Those who disagree may argue that dos Santos was still throwing hard punches throughout while intelligently defending himself to some extent. Others, like Cepeda, would counter that he appeared to be “out on his feet”…that his brain had rattled around in his skull but he was too tough and well-conditioned to actually go unconscious.
John S. Nash over at Bloody Elbow furthers the discourse on cornermen with his contribution “Throwing in the Towel on MMA Cornermen.” He points out differences between cornermen in MMA and boxing and says that it is time for the cornermen of mixed martial arts to get with the program of throwing in the towel when warranted—that some men have to be protected from themselves.
The question then becomes: what if the current culture of MMA lends itself to cornermen not protecting their fighters? And what happens when things are compounded by the referee not stepping in when he or she should?
Going back to White one last time, who said post-fight, “I wanted to throw in the towel. I had Tilman Fertitta, Lorenzo and Frank’s cousin, sitting next to me (asking me) ‘How does this work, can you throw in the towel?'” That’s a good f***ing question. I think if I threw the towel in, I’d get f***ing beat to death by his corner and half the fans here and probably the next time I went to Brazil.”
Should White have the power to throw in the towel? If he had that power, would he actually use it? Obviously being the promoter provides a clear conflict of interest, but the point remains on whether or not someone should be able to press the eject button if the corner and referee do not? And if so, who would that be?
How many of you would have have thrown in the towel if you had been cageside, on the edge of your seat, somewhere between intoxicated by the spectacle and taken aback by the brutality?
Cain Velasquez is on his way toward becoming one of the best heavyweights in MMA history.
By beating Junior dos Santos on Saturday, Velasquez moved within one win of breaking the UFC heavyweight record for consecutive title defenses. At two straight ti…
Cain Velasquez is on his way toward becoming one of the best heavyweights in MMA history.
By beating Junior dos Santos on Saturday, Velasquez moved within one win of breaking the UFC heavyweight record for consecutive title defenses. At two straight title defenses, it’s a somewhat unimpressive record, but it’s one that’s stood since Randy Couture bested Pedro Rizzo in November 2001.
Velasquez will have his chance to make history against Fabricio Werdum at an upcoming UFC fight card to be determined. Until then, where does Velasquez stand among the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA today now that he is being mentioned among the greats?
Fifteen minutes of hell.
That is what Gilbert Melendez planned to bring to Diego Sanchez when the two men squared off last Saturday night at UFC 166. With the hard-nosed mindset both men possessed, and each having a notorious love for the scrap, “El Ni…
Fifteen minutes of hell.
That is what Gilbert Melendez planned to bring to Diego Sanchez when the two men squared off last Saturday night at UFC 166. With the hard-nosed mindset both men possessed, and each having a notorious love for the scrap, “El Nino” knew exactly what he was going to have to do in order to pick up the victory in Houston.
The biggest issue would come down to execution, and against a fighter who brings a unique brand of nonstop forward pressure like Sanchez, that is a tremendous challenge in itself. Nevertheless, the 31-year-old “Skrap Pack” leader was more than up for the challenge and met Sanchez’s intensity with absolute ferocity at every turn.
When those elements are put inside a locked cage, it is a formula for magic. And that is precisely what transpired between Melendez and Sanchez at UFC 166.
In what is being heralded as the most entertaining three-round fight in UFC history, both fighters hunkered down in the line of fire and threw leather with terrible intentions. The former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion answered Sanchez’s aggression with crisp counterpunching—punishing “The Dream” every time he charged forward. Despite a multitude of exciting exchanges that laced the first two rounds, Melendez was sitting comfortably ahead on the judge’s scorecards going into the final frame.
“I’ve always felt pretty confident in the pocket but I worked extra hard on that for this fight,” Melendez told Bleacher Report. “I knew a lot of this fight would be spent in the pocket and worked on finding the right range to land what I was throwing but still avoid getting hit. I feel I accomplished that against Diego. It took a lot of movement, sticking and slipping, but I was able to land hard shots where his were missing.
“I want to be mature in there, keep my composure and never allow anyone to break me physically or mentally. Trying to coax me into these exchanges and being so tough and not going down isn’t going to affect me. I was able to stop him in his tracks plenty of times with nice right hands when he would try to get crazy.
“Diego would eat them, regroup and then try to get crazy again,” the Santa Anna native added. “But I was able to stick him with my right hand over and over and they forced him to back off. It was something I prepared for. I knew it could happen in there and it did. I kept my composure and was able to handle it the right way.”
With a comfortable lead in the fight, the former No. 1 contender could have found a way to slow down the action or ride out the momentum to victory on the cards, but that simply isn’t the way the Team Cesar Gracie fighter is wired. Granted, tempering the Jackson’s MMA fighter’s attack would have been difficult, especially since he knew the only route to victory would have been to put Melendez away.
While the final five minutes of the tilt provided the most adversity for Melendez, it came as no surprise to the former title challenger. He knew full well what Sanchez was coming across the cage with in the final round, and after action-packed, rapid-fire exchanges, Melendez emerged with a unanimous decision victory.
“Going into the third round, I knew he was going to come at me,” Melendez said. “I was fighting my game and it was working for me. I didn’t feel like I needed to back down and he was open for me to land shots. That has always been my style. Yeah, I could have cruised around, but that’s just how it goes. He called me out and I wasn’t about to back down. I was totally down for it.
“I prepared for that. If it was the first time anyone had seen Diego or the first time I had fought him, that might have been discouraging. But there is fight tape out there and I do my homework. I watched his fight against Martin Kampmann. I watched his fight against Jake Ellenberger. I’d seen him take big punches then come back strong and fight that way until the finish. I prepared for that aspect of his game.
“I told everyone coming in I was going to experiment in this fight, take risks, try to finish and refuse to back down,” he added. “It did get me dropped in there, though. That guy was rolling the dice and finally caught something. But I overcame adversity and bounced back up. I’m never going to run, man. I’m not going out like that. I’m always going to step up and fight.”
In the moments after the judge’s decision had been announced and his hand raised for the first time inside the Octagon, Melendez checked off an accomplishment that had been a long time in the making. Despite his five-year reign as the 155-pound strap holder in Strikeforce, finding victory for the first time under the UFC banner meant something different. Even more so, picking up that win after one of the most memorable bouts in UFC history gave the Bay Area resident plenty of reasons to hold his head high.
“It felt great to get that first UFC win,” Melendez said. “I saw Joe Rogan in there to do the interview and I was in awe. I tried not to put that pressure on myself and think about getting my first UFC win, but in the moment when it happened it was special.
“My goals are far from being reached, but getting that under my belt was another big weight off my shoulders. The more weight that comes off my shoulders, the more it is going allow me to be free out there, and that is only going to allow me to perform that much better. It allows me to be the artist I know I can be when I’m out there fighting.”
With his victory over Sanchez last weekend at UFC 166, Melendez has put himself on the doorstep for another shot at the 155-pound title, and it is ground he’s happy to reclaim. Following the split-decision loss to Benson Henderson in his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 7 back in April, and the rise of Canadian T.J. Grant, the title picture became cloudy where Melendez was concerned.
That said, with Grant suffering an injury which has forced him to miss out on two championship opportunities, Melendez believes the timing is right for him to get another chance. Recently crowned champion Anthony Pettis and Josh Thomson are set to mix it up at UFC on Fox 9 in December, and Melendez wants to make his bid to get the winner of that tilt.
“At this moment right now, I want to campaign for that title shot,” Melendez said. “I think I’ve earned it. I’m the uncrowned champ of the lightweight division. I believe I have what it takes to beat [Anthony] Pettis and I’ve proven I can beat Josh Thomson. I think me stepping in with whichever one of them walks out of their fight with the title would be good business for the UFC. I think people want to see it and I want that next shot.”
While Melendez will have to wait for things to play out in the title picture, for the time being he can sit back and take comfort in a job well done against Sanchez. Fights of that caliber and magnitude are rare in combat sports, and where terms like “instant classic” and “war for the ages” have become somewhat cliched, there are certain instances like what transpired between Melendez and Sanchez, where lofty descriptions hardly seem to do it justice.
He knows he was a part of something special at UFC 166, but just a handful of days removed, he’s admittedly uncertain if it has truly set in.
“It’s gnarly hearing those things,” Melendez said. “I don’t think I realized after the fight exactly what I had been a part of. I heard Dana White say ‘Holy sh**’ a few times, but didn’t truly realize the impact it had. I’ve been in a lot of wars, man. I’ve been in a lot of battles and done that before, but never on a platform like that with so many eyes watching.
“Now it’s like if you didn’t know that’s how I fight, now you know. That’s basically what it is. That is also the power of the UFC. What a platform, man. They are a marketing machine and if you get to display your skills here it’s a great stage to show the world what you can do.
“I appreciate the experience, but I’m not sure it’s really set in just how crazy it was,” Melendez laughed in conclusion. “But if it somehow guarantees me a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame I’ll definitely take it.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
UFC President Dana White delivered an apropos summary of UFC 166: “… From the first fight of the night, right up to the Heavyweight championship, it’s the best fight card we have ever had,” per Thomas Myers of SB Nation’s MMA Mania.
Looking bac…
UFC President Dana White delivered an apropos summary of UFC 166: “… From the first fight of the night, right up to the Heavyweight championship, it’s the best fight card we have ever had,” per Thomas Myers of SB Nation’s MMA Mania.
Looking back on the series of vicious knockouts paused to make room for savage wars, it’s tough to argue otherwise.
Cageside fans in Houston’s Toyota Center erupted in applause countless times over the course of the evening’s 13 bouts—seven explosive knockouts, five back-and-forth exchanges that went the distance and a lone submission to boot.
Though we might recall each and every blow vividly, it’s important to respect and admire the fighters who are sometimes left without similar luxuries.
At UFC 166, several fights—with emphasis on Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez and Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos—were highlighted by fighters willing to push past the proverbial envelope.
There was much to be learned from Saturday night’s affairs, so let me take this opportunity to point out some of the most valuable lessons gleaned from UFC 166.
Another dominant win over Junior dos Santos for