UFC heavyweight Junior dos Santos is out indefinitely after his fifth round TKO loss to champion Cain Velasquez Saturday night at UFC 166.
Dos Santos said he didn’t remember most of the fight , and that he thought Velasquez knocked him out in the second round. His camp also believes the Brazilian was on “autopilot” after not only being taken down in the first two rounds, but being knocked down and hit with a number of ground strikes in the third. Referee Herb Dean almost stopped the fight in the third round, even putting his hand on Velasquez’s back, but changed his mind and let the bout continue.
UFC president Dana White said he thought dos Santos’ camp should have thrown in the towel after the beating he took at the hands of the 265 pound champion.
“I would have thrown in the towel,” White said in the post-fight news conference.
“I had Tillman Fertitta, Lorenzo and Frank’s cousin, sitting next to me and asking me, ‘How does this work? Can you throw in the towel?’” White continued. “I was like, ‘That’s a good f***ing question. I think if I throw the towel in, I’ll get beat to death by his corner and half of the the fans here – and probably next time I (go) to Brazil.”
White added, “I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but I always like to say if anybody in his f***ing corner cares about him, please, throw in that towel.”
Junior dos Santos is medically suspended pending clearance from an ear, nose, and throat doctor. Other medical suspensions include Shawn Jordan, Gabriel Gonzaga, Diego Sanchez, Gilbert Melendez, Daniel Cormier, Roy Nelson, Jessica Eye, and Sarah Kaufman. Cain Velasquez has also been suspended until April 18 with a possible broken jaw.
Although he has lost the last two of three fights against Cain Velasquez , Junior dos Santos is the only fighter to have defeated the champion. In their first meeting on November 12, 2011 at UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos , “Cigano” knocked out the California native at 1:04 in the first round to become the UFC heavyweight champion. Velasquez won the title at UFC 155 on December 29, 2012 with a unanimous decision victory.
[Photo credit: Martial Arts Nomad / Flickr ]
