Junior dos Santos looked like a shell of his once dominant self for the first two rounds of his UFC on Fox main event with Stipe Miocic. Miocic was able to control the action on the feet while JDS looked slow and ineffective.
In round three it was a single punch that rocked Miocic and seemed to motivate JDS to get fully back in the fight.
What we got tonight was the rare five round heavyweight fight that sees plenty of action from start to finish, in addition to seeing JDS overcome some rough spots and shake off the rust en route to a decision victory.
But, despite how fun the fight was, I still can’t help but focus on how clearly better a healthy Cain Velasquez is than everyone else in the heavyweight division. Does anyone think he wouldn’t do whatever he wants to both of tonight’s fighters? And they, along with Fabricio Werdum, are the “next best” guys in the division.
- Nate Diaz made a lot of news this week, mainly via expressing his displeasure with the UFC and fighter pay. It’s an old story for the Diaz brothers but this had a very nasty tone to it. He also walked out of a Fox interview. If only he’d been able to back up his talk with his performance in the cage. Instead, he looked unmotivated and got his ass kicked for three rounds by Rafael dos Anjos. I don’t know that the UFC would want to cut Diaz and let him go to Bellator, but I don’t know how interested they could be in keeping him after the last week.
- Alistair Overeem isn’t “back” after beating a flawed and fragile Stefan Struve, but he desperately needed a win to even remain relevant. He played it safe, worked the takedown and bombed away when the opening presented itself. It was smart, it was effective, but it was also matchmaking that was safe. He’s going to need to prove himself against a top guy and prove that he can avoid the mistakes that keep leading to his getting knocked out.
- Matt Mitrione looked good again tonight, catching Gabriel Gonzaga and seeming to stop him with strikes before referee Herb Dean made him throw one last punch to put Gonzaga out for good. Mitrione and Overeem seem like a fair enough matchup coming out of tonight.
- A lot of weird stuff happened tonight, but I’m not sure anything was as weird as the outcry of outrage for Willie Gates punching John Moraga when Moraga turned to complain to the referee. The referee wanted them to keep fighting, Moraga knows that you’re to “protect yourself at all times,” there’s nothing dirty about Gates fighting during a fight. It’s not “dirty” in any way. Moraga got the win though, so everything worked out for him.
- Joe Riggs injured himself trying to take down Ben Saunders. Riggs jammed his neck and seemed to have problems with feeling in one of his arms in the immediate aftermath. it served as a good reminder that sometimes in this sport, fighters are mere inches away from being paralyzed from something as minor as a botched takedown attempt.