Junior Dos Santos put in two good rounds of work on Saturday (please don't argue that the third round was entertaining) effectively destroying Shane Carwin. His win moves him into a seat he already owned prior to Cain Velasquez's shoulder surgery, but interestingly, he is now the betting favorite in that fight.
There is no doubt that Dos Santos is a devastating technical boxer and his takedown defense appears to be getting better with every fight, but am I the only one who still sees something missing in Dos Santos? I cannot pinpoint what it is, but he seems to decidedly lack the "it" factor that so many champions possess. Perhaps it was his decision to safe jab his way to victory in the third round on Saturday. Or maybe it was his inability to put away Roy Nelson in his previous fight. Or maybe it's the fact that, despite his ability to dictate that his fights remain standing, he still has yet to display any facet of his game beyond boxing.
I must say that the early Vegas line surprised me given that Velasquez has demonstrated a deeper toolbox, a killer instinct, and better cardio. His shoulder injury is certainly an issue, but if Velasquez returns anywhere near his pre-injury form, I believe he's going to test Dos Santos in ways that he has not yet seen. Perhaps such a test will cause Junior Dos Santos to rise to the occasion? Maybe he has devastating ground game that he simply has never been forced to use? At this moment though, I have a hard time picking against Velasquez given how he has decimated the UFC's heavyweight division prior to his surgery. At least against Dos Santos. Now Alistair Overeem? That might be a different story . . .
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