FanPost

My Reaction to UFC 166

I know, I know, I'm late, but I had things to think about so come at me!!!(Please don't, I cry easily.) A few days ago we witnessed the most important Heavyweight fight in recent memory. Cain Velasquez fought Junior Dos Santos to determine who would go down as the best and second best of their generation. That wasn't all, we were treated to a fight of the year candidate and some brutal knockouts. Let's dive in to the details

The first fight was a Flyweight contest between John Dodson and Darrell Montague. This fight can be summed up by saying Dodson hits like a freight train. The Magician knocked out the Mongoose in the first round . I'm glad that the UFC has started putting flyweight on the PPV main card, they deserve and need it. We're still trying to figure out the flyweight division, in that we have a good idea who 1-5 is but as for the rest of the division elite, we're not so sure. Montague is still seen as one of the top guys at 125lbs so maybe a fight with Jussier Da Silva or the loser of John Moraga/Darren Uyenoyama. Dodson is at minimum at top 4 flyweight so lets see him against the winner of Ian McCall/Scott Jorgensen.

We got another thrilling knockout when Gabriel Gonzaga ko'd Shawn Jordan. Not much to say here either, Gonzaga embraced the power of his incredible mustache and put Jordan on dream street. Gonzaga has been on tear since he got back in the UFC, only losing to Travis Browne and finishing everyone else, great career revival. Todd Duffee needs an opponent, or maybe he should fight the winner of Bigfoot/Mark Hunt. Since I had picked Gonzaga to win, Jordan's stock doesn't really go anywhere in my mind. He's still a prospect that hasn't seemed to quite put it all together yet. If he can ever return, Stefan Struve would be and interesting match up for him or the loser of Bigfoot/Mark Hunt.

The next fight was Gilbert Melendez against Diego "The Dream"/"The Nightmare"/"The Bad Dream?" (just think about it) Sanchez. This fight brought the fans at the Toyota Center to their feet. There were several instances in this fight particularly in the third round where this was almost identical to rock'em sock'em robots. Melendez used his superior hands to cut open and punish Diego throughout the first two rounds. In the third though, Diego's game plan of crazy came to fruition as he dropped Melendez and threatened with a rear-naked choke. Melendez should look to fight T.J. Grant or Gray Maynard if he beats Nate Diaz. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what's next for Diego. I saw earlier that he called out Nate Diaz, that would be a exciting fight, but more likely a brutal one for Diego. It's no secret that I love Diego; when I first got into MMA he was one of the first guys I got emotionally invested in. That being said, I want him to retire. Seeing him slurring and spewing out unidentifiable gibberish after the fight made the toll he's taking by fighting all too real. I honestly want him to ride off into the sunset and still be able to function properly.

The co-main event was Daniel Cormier fighting Roy Nelson. Cormier used he superior wrestling and hand speed to give Roy Nelson his second loss in row. I remember when Roy Nelson was a known as a talented grappler, but I guess ,such as when Rampage used to be a wrestler, he abandoned that so he could stand and bang...bro. This strategy once again failed him as he hit nothing but air against Cormier. I still would love to see him fight Mark Hunt; Pat Barry would be and interesting fight. It's a shame to see Cormier drop to light-heavy weight, I think he is a great heavyweight, but he insists on it. Cormier fighting Gustafsson would be a nice fight, but I think Phil Davis or Rashad Evans would be interesting fights as well.

Finally the main event, Cain Velasquez against Junior Dos Santos for the third time. While Junior had some answers for Cain's assault and did relatively well against Cain until he got dropped. After that he was dominated by Cain much like in the second fight. I assume the MMA gods took pity on "Cigano" when he knocked himself out in the fifth round when he bounced his head off the canvas defending a takedown. I don't think this is the last time these two meet; they're both in their prime, relatively young, and still head and shoulders above everyone else. I still think though that this fight settles their legacy, Cain will be remembered as the best and Junior the second best of their generation. History could possibly be rewritten if Junior dominates a fourth and fifth bout, but the fights must occur while they are still in their primes. Quite frankly though, that doesn't seem overly possible. There is a lot of talk about Cain being the greatest heavyweight of all time, and to all that talk I say, "slow your roll, bandwagon jumpers." Cain still has plenty to accomplish before that should be realistically talked about. Cain needs to go on and fight "Go Horse" himself Fabricio Werdum. As for Junior, he needs to take some time off, gather himself, and see what the heavyweight landscape is when he comes back, maybe a fight with Alistair Overreem could finally be made.

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