Water Cooler Talk – UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos III Edition

The dust has cleared following a monumental UFC fight night from Houston, Texas and there is plenty of buzz following the UFC 166 event. UFC president Dana White praised the show as one of the best events ever held by the company. People were treated to a rare trilogy in the heavyweight division and a barnburner in the lightweight division between Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez which is being labeled a classic by a wide variety of insiders. With all that being said there are plenty of things to talk about at the water cooler at work this week.

WHAT HEAVYWEIGHT CAN STOP THE CHAMPIONSHIP REIGN OF “CARDIO” CAIN?

Cain Velasquez’ (13-1) solid chin seems to have grown stronger with each fight, his great conditioning has gotten more intense, and he & his team’s ability to formulate a successful game plan is remarkable as highlighted by his most recent victory over Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos (16-3) this past weekend for the UFC 166 PPV headliner. The Toyota Center hosted the latest installment to the rivalry between these two giants concluding in the form of a trilogy which has seen three fights with the UFC Heavyweight Championship on the line each time. Cain lost the first battle via 1st round KO, Dos Santos lost the rematch by way of unanimous decision and for the final episode, Cain defended his crown with a TKO stoppage of “Cigano” thanks to some devastating strikes in the 5th round. The punches were brutal indeed but what made their sting more potent was the way Velasquez set them up; he took Dos Santos’ legs and cardio away by pinning him along the cage wall round after round from the opening bell, smothering him with shots on the inside be it elbows or short punches to the face or knees to his foe’s inner thigh.  Junior wouldn’t give in however, relentlessly trudging on, staying in the fight thanks to his amazing one-punch KO power but it had slowly diminished as the champion stuck to the strategy of keeping the fight at close quarters by using his wrestling and pressing his opponent’s back along the wall, rarely allowing the challenger to find his range. Even the game changing left hooks or over hand rights from Dos Santos that found their mark when the two traded appeared to not have the same impact as they did in their previous battles thanks to the constant aggression and take down attempts from Velasquez.

Now, with the most recent threat to his heavyweight throne subdued, the Mexican-American title holder clears the 2013 landscape awaiting the next challenger in 2014. But, the list of candidates remains short as Velasquez has already dispatched of top contenders in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Cheick Congo,  Antonio “Big Foot” Silva & Dos Santos. The previously unbeaten, Stipe Miocic, needs to string together a couple of more wins prior to entering the title hunt while another formally unbeaten fighter, Travis Browne, needs to do the same before earning that top spot to challenge for UFC gold. Perhaps the probable contender shall emerge in the form of BJJ ace, Fabricio Werdum?  The Ultimate Fighter: Brasil Season 2 head coach has strung together 3 consecutive triumphs clearing the way for his chance at earning a belt inside of the Octagon.

On the other hand timing is of the essence therefore former UFC title holder,  Josh “The War Master” Barnett’s, return to the Octagon may have been uncanny; his recent 1st round stoppage of ex-UFC champion, Frank Mir, at UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis likely put him towards the front of the line. That match would carry intrigue simply because of its “old school versus new school” factor as well as Barnett’s respected wrestling and MMA veteran credentials. Whomever the next contestant is, they truly have their work cut out for them because Cain Velasquez’ heavyweight title reign seems prepped to take off to the highest altitudes without much turbulence in the near future.

“DC” CORMIER IS THE REAL DEAL

A lackluster Octagon debut earlier this year at UFC on FOX 7: Henderson vs. Melendez left many fans wondering what the Daniel “DC” Cormier (13-0) hype was all about regarding the talented Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner. Cormier stepped into the cage that April night unbeaten opposite UFC veteran, Frank Mir, and left the Octagon with his perfect record intact thanks to a unanimous decision win. However, the bout seemed to have more of a “safe-approach” offense compared to the action-packed performances aficionados have come to expect from the Oklahoma native. This past Saturday by earning a unanimous decision verdict behind a dominant performance, he reminded us why we tune in to watch him go to work inside the cage.

As the co-main event to UFC 166 , Cormier took on former International Fight League champion, Roy “Big Country” Nelson (20-9), and brought the goods. His outstanding footwork in and out of the pocket &  precise combinations threw his foe’s timing off as well as disarmed Roy Nelson of that one-hitter quitter over hand right. Round after round Nelson was hitting Texas air as Cormier glided along the Octagon as if though he snuck into the Toyota Center on roller skates. Eventually, when Nelson thought he could clip his opponent while they stood in the Octagon barely outside of hitting range, Cormier shot in for a double leg take down or scooped up a single leg, perfectly timing his opponent getting the take down or roughing up his foe along the cage wall. If that wasn’t enough, Cormier began showcasing some leg strikes be it low leg kicks, high kicks or round houses, completely leaving Nelson confused on what was coming next. Finally, Daniel’s 1-2 combination gradually grew in its effectiveness with his crafty variation of strikes as he mixed them up along with another batch of take down attempts.

If Daniel Cormier aims to remain at heavyweight he could really create some waves in the division as the elite fighter that he is. Nevertheless, if the undefeated warrior’s claims to drop down to light heavyweight in order to challenge 205-pound kingpin, Jon “Bones” Jones are true, then 2014 just got allot more interesting for fight fans world wide

MELENDEZ AND SANCHEZ – AN UNFORGETTABLE WAR

It’s ironic that on the exact same night that HBO premiered its documentary about the timeless classic   between Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward, two popular MMA fighters would come together to create one of the greatest battles ever witnessed inside of the Octagon. The boxing match between Gatti and Ward was a blood and guts battle that produced a trilogy as well as countless praise and buzz amongst the fight community 12 years ago that continues until today, as proven by the documentary this past weekend entitled: “Legendary Nights”. Well, if the lightweight tilt between former Strikeforce 155-pound king, Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez and The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 winner, Diego “The Dream” Sanchez continues snowballing as it has with its continuous praise from fans, nominations for 2013 “Fight of the Year” and growing acclaim from the media, then more than likely a documentary will be developed one day for their memorable fight out of the sheer respect and admiration that both men have garnered thanks to their unbelievable performances on Saturday.

The two 155ers brought down the house with their beautifully brutal and valiantly violent symphony of non-stop action for the span of 15 unbelievable minutes. A buffet of jabs, knees, hooks, leg kicks and elbows as well as various punching flurries served as the medley of madness for both combatants as they stood and traded in the pocket personifying courage and their pure love for the sport as well as their infatuation with competition. By throwing caution to the wind and throwing down, they gave fans one of the most thrilling matches this year if not the last few years.  The only pause to the thrill ride came as a result of a cut formed over Sanchez’ left eyebrow thanks to a vicious Melendez elbow during an exchange in the first round that had to be looked at later on in the fight. However, this only increased the fever pitch of the moment adding a hint of desperation to the Sanchez supporters who knew he was down on the cards after two rounds because Melendez had gotten the better of the striking with crisp shots amidst his solid takedown defense. Like something out of a Hollywood movie, Sanchez rallied in the 3^rd round stunning his man with a beautiful uppercut that leveled Melendez. He weathered the storm, but it was clear that “El Nino” yearned for the victory that much more as the fight came to a close and the two again traded punches with reckless abandonment prompting a standing ovation from all of the fans in attendance that evening.

Some big fights don’t live up to the hype, some matches meet expectations, some bouts go above protocol, but every so often you get the honor of witnessing a classic fight put on by two warriors possessing tremendous heart in almost superhuman ways. For Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez, it wasn’t so much about the win column but the column in which their names will forever be etched into the history books as one of the greatest fights of 2013 thanks to them leaving it all in the cage.