In a generational heavyweight battle at UFC 103, young up-and-comer Junior dos Santos showed that he has officially arrived, defeating MMA legend Mirko Cro Cop by third-round TKO.
Early on dos Santos was pushing the pace of the fight, letting his hands go and backing Cro Cop off. Cro Cop did attempt one of his patented head kicks, but dos Santos shook it off. With about two minutes to go in the first, Cro Cop tried to take dos Santos down, a surprising decision that suggested he was concerned dos Santos could out-box him on the feet. But Cro Cop also did his share of damage in the first round, opening a couple of cuts on dos Santos's face.
The second was more of the same, a back-and-forth fight on the feet, although both fighters appeared a little more tentative and cautious than they had in the first, and some of the fans in Dallas booed. In the final minute of the round, Cro Cop landed a kick to dos Santos's groin.
It was in the third that dos Santos won the fight, badly damaging Cro Cop's eye and leading Cro Cop to shake his head and say he couldn't go any further, causing the referee to stop the fight. Cro Cop is one of the most devastating strikers in the history of the sport, entering this fight with 19 career wins by knockout or TKO, but it's the 25-year-old Dos Santos, who had two first-round knockouts in his previous two UFC fights, who's the devastating knockout artist of the future.
Cro Cop entered the fight with a professional MMA record of 25-6-2. Dos Santos entered with a record of 8-1.
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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Vitor Belfort (L) battles UFC fighter Rich Franklin (R) during their Catch weight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vitor Belfort;Rich Franklin
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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Vitor Belfort (R) battles UFC fighter Rich Franklin (L) during their Catch weight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vitor Belfort;Rich Franklin
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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Vitor Belfort (R) battles UFC fighter Rich Franklin (L) during their Catch weight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vitor Belfort;Rich Franklin
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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Vitor Belfort (L) battles UFC fighter Rich Franklin (R) during their Catch weight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vitor Belfort;Rich Franklin
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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Vitor Belfort (L) battles UFC fighter Rich Franklin (R) during their Catch weight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vitor Belfort;Rich Franklin
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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Vitor Belfort (L) battles UFC fighter Rich Franklin (R) during their Catch weight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vitor Belfort;Rich Franklin
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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Vitor Belfort (L) battles UFC fighter Rich Franklin (R) during their Catch weight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vitor Belfort;Rich Franklin
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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Vitor Belfort (L) battles UFC fighter Rich Franklin (R) during their Catch weight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vitor Belfort;Rich Franklin
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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Vitor Belfort (L) battles UFC fighter Rich Franklin (R) during their Catch weight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vitor Belfort;Rich Franklin
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