Junior dos Santos became the new heavyweight champion of the world last night (Sat., Nov. 12, 2011) at UFC on FOX 1 in Anaheim, California, by knocking out Cain Velasquez in just 64 seconds.

As if that wasn't already impressive enough, it turns out "Cigano" did this just 10 days removed from a torn meniscus in his knee that had him on crutches and barely able to walk.

Here's how he explained it at the post-fight press conference last night (via MMAFighting.com):

"I got a very serious injury in my knee, my meniscus. You know, 10 days ago I couldn't walk very well. I stayed two days with [crutches], but I asked my doctor to help me because it's the fight of my life and I can't miss that fight."

Because of his injury, Dos Santos had no plans on going the full five rounds, even if that's what UFC and FOX executives wanted for their big debut on network television. The longer the fight went on, the worse off the Brazilian would be.

So why not land a huge punch, finish the job and take home 12-pounds of gold in just over one minute? It's much easier and more efficient that way.

And that's exactly what he did.

Hear more from the new champion after the jump, as he talks about the biggest win of his career and the resolve it took to push through such a serious injury. For a complete recap of the bout click here. For video highlights click here and for complete UFC on FOX 1 results and recap of all the night's action click here and here.