Dos Santos won't and shouldn't get another fight against Velasquez for a very long time—if ever. After nights like Saturday, even the capitalistic Dana White wouldn't sentence his fighter to the fate of Joe Budden. What's next for Velasquez, in fact, already seems set in stone. And his jiujitsu, he's going to want to go to the ground—which makes this fight very interesting. In a stylistic vacuum, Velasquez-Werdum does seem interesting.
Velasquez's takedowns versus Werdum's ability to submit an opponent at any moment is a nice contrast that could make for an interesting fight. But Werdum is He's improved, yes—from a guy who was cut from UFC a few years ago. Stylistic differences can so often play a bigger difference than anyone even gives credit, but this is still going to be like throwing Macklemore into a rap battle with Eminem.
Velasquez will dominate. With the same precision with which he took down dos Santos on Saturday and with the same ease that he's defeated all other oncomers since joining the sport. The heavyweight division presents almost zero challenges to Velasquez. Opponents come in hoping to land that one punch the same way dos Santos did, but knowing their odds are somewhere between Amanda Bynes winning an Oscar and Chief Keef winning a Grammy. Velasquez has reached that rarefied air in pugilism, where his competition is not the man staring him in the face but other fighters outside his weight class.
Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre are the only two in Velasquez's strata on the male side, and it's arguable that no one is more dominant than female champion Ronda Rousey. All bouts live and subject to change. In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with over two million followers on Twitter.
Tickets on Sale Friday for Dos Santos vs. Velasquez II. So here we are, ready for a third installment of the UFC's biggest—and only—heavyweight rivalry, but the fact of the matter is, there simply is no one else to test Velasquez and dos Santos.
Over the last two years, Velasquez has only fought two men: Silva and Cigano. Neither of his fights with Silva were competitive, but they were necessary because no other heavyweight had proven themselves worthy of serious contention. Cigano's path to a third fight has been a bit more diverse, but only a little more challenging. Mir didn't deserve to be in the Octagon with him, but Overeem's elevated-testosterone tomfoolery made it necessary, per Scott Sawitz of Fox Sports.
That was the worst main event in a major UFC pay-per-view event—at least in recent memory. The fight with Hunt was entertaining, but it is hard to imagine anyone seriously believing he would defeat dos Santos.
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