Velasquez and dos Santos Head to Head: Who will win in Anaheim?
Posted on November 9, 2011, 01:14 AM by Trent ReinsmithCain Velasquez will defend his UFC Heavyweight title against Junior dos Santos on Saturday, November 12 when the UFC makes their debut on FOX. The title fight will be the only bout broadcast by FOX on Saturday night.
The official partnership between between the UFC and FOX will begin in 2012, but both sides will look to use this heavyweight title fight to drum up interest in the UFC. Lorezon Fertitta, CEO of the UFC had the following to say about the event, "It's a huge commercial. You have to let people sample the product. Once again, there's a lot of people out there that really haven't been exposed to the UFC, don't know guys like Cain Velasquez, how special he is; a guy like Junior Dos Santos. Once you watch them, you create new fans. We've already proven the model out, right? There was really a very, very niche fan base before Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar fought, and once they did, the sport exploded. We're looking for that same type of effect." - for more see USAToday
When the fighters enter the Octagon at Anaheim, CA's Honda Center on Saturday night they will have a combined record of 22-1, with dos Santos holding the only loss between them, a submission loss that took place outside of the UFC in 2007.
Velasquez has not fought since winning the title from Brock Lesnar on October 23 of last year. A shoulder injury sustained during that fight required surgery and a lengthy rehab. Dos Santos has fought twice since Velasquez became champion, recording the only two decision victories of his career in those fights.
Here’s a preview for one of the more anticipated fights and fight cards in the history of the UFC.
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Cain Velasquez Age: 29 Record: 9-0 Finishes: 8 Streak: W-W-W-W-W |
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Junior dos Santos Age: 27 Record: 13-1 Finishes: 11 Streak: W-W-W-W-W |
Striking: 55-45 for Junior dos Santos
This is a tough call. Both fighters have shown that they are strong in their striking game. Velasquez may be the more well rounded striker, mixing things up a little more with kicks, but dos Santos’ boxing skills are better than the champs. If the two stand toe to toe and throw bungalows, I would say that dos Santos is the favorite.
It would not be a surprise to see Velasquez opt to not stand and bang with dos Santos, instead he may use his stand up striking to set up a takedown. From the top position on the ground he would become the clear favorite in the striking battle.
Clinch/Dirty Boxing: 55-45 for Junior dos Santos
Like the above, this one again favors the challenger due to his high level boxing skills. If he gets in close he can use those skills to hurt Velasquez, negating any advantage the champions more well rounded skill set may give him. Dos Santos has also shown an affinity for throwing knees while in the clinch, which is always an effective technique.
Wrestling: 80-20 for Cain Velasquez
Velasquez gets the nod on this one on the strength of his collegiate wrestling background. The champion was a highly ranked wrestler while attending Arizona State University and will look to use that experience to take dos Santos to the ground. Once on the ground the champion will be able to use his wrestling skill set to hold dos Santos down and tee off with a heavy ground and pound assault. The key for dos Santos is to negate that wrestling advantage, which is something that is easier said than done. Everyone knows Velasquez's wrestling background so the smart money says that dos Santos' camp spent a significant amount of time working takedown defense. If they did not, it could be a pianful night for dos Santos.
Submissions: 70-30 for Junior Dos Santos
Both fighters hold the rank of brown belt, Velasquez in Guerrilla jiu jitsu while dos Santos’ holds his in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Of the two fighters, dos Santos is the one with submission victories during his career; using an armbar to force Joaquim Ferreira to tap and using a guillotine choke to stop Eduardo Maiorino. Neither of those submissions took place in the UFC. Since arriving in the UFC neither fighter has really used their jiu jitsu skills in any significant manner so, this one is really the hardest to call. Their jiu jitsu skills, like some mythical beast, are allegedly there, but without seeing them, they are hard to believe in.
Further Reading: UFC stars talk UFC on FOX: Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos
Comments
Cool picture Scott. I don't think I could do what you do. If Dos Santos looked directly at me with a balled up fist....... I'd probably sh** my pants.
cain FTW because of cardio and hes gonna decide where the fight goes with his wrestling plus hes got a solid chin
not too sure about his solid chin. Good recovery? yes. Good chin? he's been droped a few times but people who dont hit as well or as hard as Cigano... I do agree, as the fight goes on, it favors Cain more and more due to his cardio.
oh Kongo hits plenty hard. Cigano couldn't drop Roy Nelson (no one can) or Carwin. now where is your argument?
I'm pretty sure he dropped Carwin ad in the process destroyed his face.
To be fair thought he didn't finish him buy boy was itc lose!
Cigano dropped Big Country and Carwin in round 1.
Go cigano go brazil!!!!!!
cardio-wise i think it's even - seeing the carwin fight (w/ jds) i didn't notice jds gassing out on that one; and it's three rounds with carwin, it's shane carwin for crying out loud!
u didnt notice he gassed out?? he didnt throw more than 5 punches on second round. and on a post fight interview he admitted he was really tired after round 1. cain has never gassed out. maybe if he has ring rust he will but i dont think so. cardio wise its 100% for cain...
ding ding gentlemen
I think this is a very even match in terms of skill set. If so, then the fact that Cain is coming off an injury and hasn't fought in a year could be key.
i think cain might stand for the first min or so then realise junior is too strong, its at this time he will take junior down and dry hump him for the next few rounds for a decision victory.......true story.
Cain wasn't willing to bang with Congo and thats what he ended up doing holding Congo down and giving minimum damage to him in the process.
What's up with Dos Santos's head? It looks like a melon.
am i the only one who really doesn't care who wins? i'm a fan of both Cigano and Velasquez, to me either one would be good as champion because they both fight well and are respectful and easy to promote.
i dont know who to pick , but my gut tells me Cain
yeah my gut says cain as well, but as i said either one is a worthy champ
Wanting JDS to win badly, but feeling that Cain will pull it off......
I like them both a lot, skills, personality. JDS would be awesome champ, a lil more talkative and less reserved than Cain but i have a feeling Cain is gonna win too.
I dont think JDS will be able to KO Cain in the first three rounds and will probably gas in the third trying to stop repeated takedowns. If JDS wins the two first rounds by outboxing Cain and blocking a few TDS or standing right back up, Cain will take the last 3 thanks to superior cardio and outwrestle him.
Cigano by KO
I think that's a bit of an unfair breakdown of the subs. This is heavyweight, the use of BJJ from the bottom is rare because most guys, with their size, can control the guy they're under. Whatsmore heavyweights lack the weight/strength ratio and flexibility needed to be dynamic on their back.
I think Cain's wrestling means we're may more like to see him get a sub because he'll have all the control on the ground.
Noone has mentioned the grappling cardio. JDS has good cardio for standing but we haen't seen what happenswhen he is grounded or even on top. We've seen Aldo's cardio been diminshed quite a bi whn forced to grapple for example.
Cain was put down by the biggest fighter in the UFC Lesnar) and held up against the cage by him and Cain used perfect technique to get out and wasted no energy doing so.
Cardio goes to Cain standing but if it goes to the ground I reckon just from experience Cain has a big grappling cardio advantage,
I think Valesquez will win, mainly because he is the better all around fighter, he has the better grappling and wrestling and even though his hands aren't as fast as Dos Santos' he definately has equal power behind his punches. Dos Santos is definately the better boxer for sure but Velasquez took a clean shot from Kongo that buckled his legs for a moment but didn't put him down, my point being that Velasquez can take a good shot and still recover and win the fight, he has an excellent chin. As for Velasquez, nobody has connected on him yet so we don't yet know what his chin is like, Velasquez may well just show us. Don't get me wrong, Dos Santos' striking is the best in the HW division by far and he is capable of KOing anyone but i just think Velasquez will overwhelm him. Either way this is going to be one hell of a fight!!.......