Junior Dos Santos: Power Ranking His UFC Fights

Junior dos Santos is the current champion of the UFC heavyweight division, and it is looking to be a difficult task to beat the top heavyweight in the world.

Dos Santos easily defeated Frank Mir last night at UFC 146, securing his title in the process. Currently at 9-0 in the UFC, "Cigano" has been impossible to beat thus far due to his elite boxing and great takedown defense.

Here is a power ranking of dos Santos' fights in the UFC thus far, which have been nothing less than stellar.

UFC 103: JDS vs. Mirko Cro Cop

Although ranked last in the power rankings, this was the fight that defined Junior dos Santos' early UFC career. By knocking off the legendary Mirko Cro Cop, dos Santos declared a changing of the guard in the heavyweight division.

Dos Santos battered Cro Cop for three rounds, using his superb boxing, speed and stamina en route to a verbal submission by Cro Cop. "Cigano" attacked aggressively, eventually causing an eye injury on the Croat.

UFC 117: JDS vs. Roy Nelson

In another impressive performance, Junior dos Santos manhandled Roy Nelson, eventually winning by unanimous decision. Dos Santos threw everything but the kitchen sink at Nelson, whose granite chin withstood barrages of knockout punches.

I don't know if the fight was better because dos Santos looked so good or because Nelson showed how tough he is. My guess is the latter, which is why this fight came in toward the bottom of the power ranking.

UFC Live: JDS vs. Gabriel Gonzaga

Holding co-main event status on the first ever card on Versus, Junior dos Santos did not disappoint in his outing against Gabriel Gonzaga. Gonzaga is a former title challenger and was viewed as a huge test for dos Santos.

Within four minutes of fighting, dos Santos connected with his hands and rocked Gonzaga. He followed up on the ground, putting Gonzaga out cold for the win.

UFC 95: JDS vs. Stefan Struve

At UFC 95, Junior dos Santos showed that size doesn't matter, at least in height. In his second UFC outing, the Brazilian quickly disposed of the Dutchmen with brutal punching power.

In less than a minute, the referee jumped in to save Struve and dos Santos walked away victorious again. The crowd in England was ecstatic, as was dos Santos, whose legend continued to grow from this fight.

UFC 131: JDS vs. Shane Carwin

Just from looking at Shane Carwin's face, it is easy to see who won this fight. In the headliner of UFC 131, Junior dos Santos put on a boxing clinic, using his takedown defense to keep the fight standing.

To Carwin's credit, he stuck in there en route to the unanimous decision. There were times he could have given up, but he took his beating like a man and earned boatloads of respect in the process.

Dos Santos even showed off his improved wrestling as he took down Carwin at once just to prove a point. 

UFC 108: JDS vs. Gilbert Yvel

You talk about a knockout in the blink of an eye, UFC 108 provided that when Junior dos Santos clobbered Gilbert Yvel with a perfectly timed left hook.

Both men were throwing heavy leather the entire fight, but it was dos Santos who put Yvel away. The highlight reel knockout proved that dos Santos was one of the best strikers in MMA.

It was just one of the five first-round knockouts by dos Santos in his UFC tenure. 

UFC 146: JDS vs. Frank Mir

In his first title defense, Junior dos Santos faced Frank Mir at UFC 146. In a largely one-sided affair, dos Santos defended Mir's takedowns and peppered him with heavy punches to eventually knock him out in the second round.

Dos Santos hit Mir so hard that Mir tried pulling guard on the Octagon cage. It was an important win for dos Santos, as defending the title is the real mark of a champion.

UFC 90: JDS vs. Fabricio Werdum

Talk about a UFC debut.

Junior dos Santos came into UFC 90 with a tall task ahead of him, as well as a heavy underdog status. He was facing a highly regarded veteran in Fabricio Werdum, who is the best heavyweight grappler in MMA. 

One uppercut later and it was all over. Dos Santos punched his way into the upper-part of the heavyweight division and showed the world he was no joke. 

UFC on FOX: JDS vs. Cain Velasquez

The biggest, most important fight for Junior dos Santos would be the first UFC fight to air on Fox. Challenging for the UFC title, dos Santos had a tall task to attend to when he squared off with Cain Velasquez. 

Despite a torn meniscus coming into the fight, dos Santos knocked out Velasquez in just over a minute. He earned the UFC title in dramatic fashion, showing fans on national television who the best heavyweight in the world was.

We could see part two of this fight in dos Santos' next outing.