UFC 146 Results: 3 Fights for Junior Dos Santos to Take Next

Junior dos Santos is the real deal.

Any doubters who may have thought that “Cigano” had won his title due to a lucky punch were put on notice last night, as Dos Santos walked into the arena with the belt around his waist and impressively dominated Frank Mir to retain his title.

The fight was an incredibly one-sided affair that saw Mir land little more than a few kicks to the legs and body while trying desperately not to get rocked by the boxing of the champion, but eventually Mir’s defenses crumbled and he was finished easily in the second round.

The heavyweight championship has been notoriously hard to defend over the last few years, so this win was huge for Dos Santos and he proved he has the skills to be called one of the best in the world during his beatdown of one of the UFC’s best heavyweights.

With Mir now firmly in the past, JDS has a few other top competitors looking for a shot at his belt in the near future, and things are undoubtedly going to get much tougher for the UFC heavyweight champion.

Cain Velasquez

The man who will likely get the next shot at Dos Santos and the heavyweight belt is the one who JDS took it from to begin with: Cain Velasquez.

Velasquez looked like a killer in his first-round domination of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in last night’s co-main event, and he made a statement that he is looking to earn his belt back as quickly as possible.

A lot of fans felt shorted when the first matchup between Dos Santos and Velasquez ended in just over a minute, but they will get a chance to see arguably the two best heavyweights in the world go at it once again later this year.

If Velasquez is successfully able to use his wrestling, or at least stay out of harms way for a bit, the second fight should be much different than the first, and fans may finally get to see the epic heavyweight title fight that has eluded the UFC for the last few years.

Daniel Cormier

After winning the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix last weekend, Daniel Cormier officially threw his name into the discussion for the title of best heavyweight in MMA and the only man he can defeat to earn that title outright is Dos Santos.

While Cormier’s teammate and training partner Cain Velasquez is likely going to get the next shot at the title, if Velasquez is unsuccessful it will open the door for Cormier to step in and challenge Dos Santos early next year.

Cormier has some of the best wrestling credentials in all of MMA, and may have a better shot than anyone of negating the boxing of Dos Santos and making him uncomfortable during their fight. 

Alistair Overeem

The man that was originally set to fight Dos Santos for the title at last night's event, Alistair Overeem, may be the biggest threat to JDS’ title reign.

One of the best strikers on the planet, Overeem has the kickboxing to stand and exchange on the feet with anyone in the world, including Dos Santos.

While Overeem has been finished before, his record since entering the heavyweight division a few years ago is close to immaculate and he will likely get a chance to win MMA’s Holy Grail once he returns from his suspension early next year.