Photo via UFC
The Brazilian Junior dos Santos entered the cage at UFC 166, on the evening of Saturday, April 19, in order to regain the UFC heavyweight belt. The owner of the belt, Cain Velasquez , lost and regained the belt in two previous fights with “Cigano,” and the big boys held the “litmus test” in the octagon assembled in Houston, Texas.
Superior from start to finish, Cain confirmed favoritism and defended his belt, defeating the Brazilian game and winning by TKO. Already in the penultimate fight of the night, Daniel Cormier and Roy Nelson fought great battle , but Cormier got the better. Check out the highlights :
Velasquez beats up dos Santos … again
Cain and “Cigano” came together in the cage for the third time to definitively answer the question of who the best heavyweight in the world is.
It did not take long for Cain to indicate his game. Pressing the grid , feinting to takedown and applying hard blows in the gaps, the Brazilian dictated the pace of the fight in five rounds of combat. Junior in response uttered strong right cross. Some found Cain, but never with surgical precision that would be necessary to bring down the defending champion .
The fight moved toward a clear 50-45 when Junior risked a finish on the neck, still standing. Cain turned around, fell to the floor, and Cigano hit his head on the ground. Stunned by the punishment he had received from Velasquez, Junior covered up and Cain finished the fight while standing over him and landing strikes. The TKO came at just over three minutes of the final round.
Cormier gets a unanimous win over Nelson in co-main
In the co-main event, Daniel Cormier and Roy Nelson faced in combat also valid in the heavyweight division of the UFC .
Starting the fight, Cormier expected to respect the stone hands from Nelson and went straight to the grappling. The paunchy black belt in Jiu-Jitsu was easy prey for the wrestler, falling to his back and even trying a kimura with Cormier in side control.
But then comes the clever bit: Whoever thought Cormier would avoid a standing exchange was wrong. After working the falls, Cormier used his head, causing Roy to think to defend takedowns, to combine rapid and accurate punches . In the assault, Daniel took advantage while grabbing and hitting.
In the second stage, Daniel returned to fight on the feet, challenging the lethal overhand right by Nelson. Ducking that punch and landing kicks, Cormier worked smoothly to take the second round as well.
In the third and last round, more of the same. Falls, blows some answers fast and Roy. Cormier walked one more step . Roy Nelson tried to pressure Cormier but experienced wrestler remained calm, administered and maintained his unbeaten record in the UFC with a unanimous decision to Daniel Cormier .
Other highlights were the devastating knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga over Shawn Jordan and the epic clash starring Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez, which will be a fight to remember for many years. Check out the results and winners of UFC 166 bonuses:
Main Card:
Cain Velasquez def. Junior dos Santos by TKO at 3:09, Round 5
Daniel Cormier def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision
Gilbert Melendez def. Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision (Fight of the Night)
Gabriel Gonzaga def. Shawn Jordan by KO at 1:33, Round 1
John Dodson def. Darell Montague by KO at 4:13, Round 1 (KO of the Night)
Prelims:
Tim Boetsch def. CB Dollaway by split decision
Hector Lombard def. Nate Marquardt by KO at 1:48, Round 1
Jessica Eye def. Sarah Kaurman by split decision
KJ Noons def. Georges Sotiropoulos by unanimous decision
Prelims on Facebook:
Adlan Amagov def. TJ Waldburger by KO at 3:45, Round 1
Tony Ferguson def. Mike Rio by submission (D’Arce choke) at 1:52, Round 1 (Submission of the Night)
Andre Fili def. Jeremy Larsen by TKO at 0:53, Round 2
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Dustin Pague by TKO at 3:51, Round 2