That MMA Guy: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Will Be War for the Ages

Junior dos Santos battered Shane Carwin last night in a unanimous decision victory to secure a title shot against the champion Cain Velasquez later this year, in what has the potential to be one of the greatest title fights in UFC history.

I haven’t been this excited to see a heavyweight fight since the Pride days of Mirko Cro Cop squaring off against Fedor Emelianenko. Dos Santos had a brilliant performance last night as he kept Carwin at bay with that precise jab, hurt him with some good combinations and handled Carwin’s takedown attempts very well.

Finally, the heavyweight showdown of the century is set up and unless an injury prevents these two from fighting each other again, they should battle it out in October or November.

I always envisioned these two fighting each other on a grand stage since they first entered the UFC and ran through the heavyweight division. They ripped through opponent after opponent, and the UFC did a brilliant job of never matching up these two promising contenders.

Now they will fight for the for the title. We witnessed both fighters go from exciting prospect to contender to the elite of the division. As far as buys, this might not bring in the large number of PPV buys that a Brock Lesnar fight would, but fight fans couldn’t ask for a more exciting matchup. Both are looked at as the elite of the division, and with the exception of Strikeforce Champion Alistair Overeem, the two have the best striking ability in MMA at heavyweight.

Champions in every division right now, with the exception of lightweight, look leaps and bounds above the competition in their respected divisions. This isn’t the case for the heavyweight division. In fact, the opening betting line for the future fight features dos Santos as the favorite.

We’ve been spoiled with some great heavyweight title fights, but I have reason to believe this will be the best yet.  Dos Santos showed last night that his wrestling has improved dramatically since first entering the UFC.  And while it may not be on Velasquez’s level yet, it’s improved enough to keep the fight standing.

And who’s to say that Velasquez wants to take this fight to the ground? Velasquez has shown that his stand-up is among the elite of the division, as he mixes kicks and punches as well as anyone at heavyweight. Finally, a fight between two well-rounded heavyweights for the UFC gold will take place. When these two take the center of the octagon, expect a war for the ages.