Junior dos Santos controlled Cain Velasquez’ body better, but when push comes to shove, the outcome was the same: Velasquez obliterated JDS in a UFC Heavyweight Championship main event.
JDS connected with a key punch in the early portion of their UFC 166 main event, but from that point forward, the fight was all Cain. Velasquez could not take the champion down with much regularity, but he had no trouble repeatedly driving his opponent into the cage.
Velasquez’ strategy of connecting with a punch and then charging forward, giving JDS little opportunity to breathe and even less opportunity to counter, was simply too much for Dos Santos to overcome.
And though Velasquez was safe and strategic in his effort, he was not shy in doing damage. Velasquez turned his opponent’s face into something out of a horror movie, and in round three, came within inches of scoring a stoppage. Proof of how close he came was evident when Herb Dean actually tapped Velasquez on the shoulder; JDS’ unparalleled heart is all that kept him in the mix.
Unfortunately, even heart has limits, and the fight finally came to a hold in round five. After eating a seamlessly endless supply of brutal shots from Velasquez, the former champion attempted to bring Velasquez down with a choke. Velasquez countered on the landing, however, and Dos Santos ended up spiking his head on the mat. From there, Velasquez delivered two punches to a dazed JDS before the referee stepped in.
Earlier in the night, Daniel Cormier beat Roy Nelson in a snoozer, while Gilbert Melendez edged Diego Sanchez in one of the best fights of all time.
Full UFC 166 Results
UFC Champion Cain Velasquez def. Junior dos Santos via TKO – 3:09 of Round 5
Daniel Cormier def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Gilbert Melendez def. Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Gabriel Gonzaga def. Shawn Jordan via TKO (punches) – 1:33 of Round 1
John Dodson def Darrell Montague via KO (punch) – 4:13 of Round 1
Tim Boetsch def. CB Dollaway via split decision (30-26, 27-29, 30-26)
Hector Lombard def. Nate Marquardt via KO (punches) – 1:48 of Round 1
Jessica Eye def. Sarah Kaufman via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
K.J. Noons def. George Sotiropoulos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Adlan Amagov def. T.J. Waldburger via KO (punches) – 3:45 of Round 3
Tony Ferguson def. Mike Rio via submission (D’Arce) – 1:52 of Round 1
Andre Fili def. Jeremy Larsen via TKO (punches) – :53 of Round 2
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Dustin Pague via TKO (punches) – 3:51 of Round 2