UFC 103: Junior 'Cigano' dos Santos Beats Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic

Posted Sep 19, 2009 11:47PM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)

Filed Under: UFC

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 Rich Franklin (R) gets knocked out by UFC fighter Vitor Belfort with referee Yves Lavigne (L) protecting him 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 *** Rich Franklin;Yves Lavigne

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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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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-20-2009 @ 11:33AM

M13 said...

Cro Cop looked terrible in that fight. He looked like he didn't know what to do against Dos Santos. One thing is for sure is that he needs to change his approach with how he fights and do it fast.

9-21-2009 @ 2:25PM

Chris said...

Money Mayweather would kill all the UFC fighters,even Brock Lesnar would be destroyed by money man.....

9-21-2009 @ 3:05PM

That's a big fat negative. If Mayweather or any boxer were to make in MMA then they would have learn other skill sets to complement their boxing skills. The days of boxer vs. wrestler etc. are over.

9-21-2009 @ 3:24PM

richardbikle said...

what makes you think mayweather hasnt hired some trainers to try and get mma skills and just couldnt hack it?

mayweather knows he'd be ground to dust on the mat, he couldnt run fast enough.
mma aint boxing.

9-21-2009 @ 3:30PM

Eric said...

I realize that you are just MMA hating, but you can't honestly believe that?!? Brock (though I'm not a fan) could snatch off one of Floyd's arms, choke him simply by grabbing his neck, or throw him over the octagon fence and into the 5th row. That fight would be hilarious to watch.

Here's a thought ... let's put Floyd "Money" Mayweather and BJ "The Prodigy" Penn in the ring together. First they'll box for 1 round, then they fight MMA for 1 round. I guarantee BJ loses the round of boxing, but while holding his own with his aggression and granite chin. As far as the MMA round goes, Floyd won't stay conscious for more than 30 seconds. Game over