Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos rocked and socked his way to a razor-thin unanimous decision victory over Stipe Miocic last Saturday night (Dec. 13, 2014) at UFC on FOX 13 inside US Airways Arena in Phoenix, Arizona (recap).
Despite getting lit up in rounds one and two, "Cigano" was able to soldier on, thanks to a zombie-like autopilot feature that allowed him to resemble a walking corpse who did not stop punching (video). That's what kept him going in both Cain Velasquez fights and it served him well in "The Grand Canyon State," as well.
But don't expect to see him return to the Octagon anytime soon, according to non-doctor and UFC President Dana White (via Sherdog.com):
"That was the right decision. But let me tell you what: [dos Santos] slowed down a lot, he took some big shots tonight. His eye starts to swell up and his cheekbones start to swell up and that was early. If that was a three-round fight, Stipe wins that fight. Junior got busted up early and the guy has so much heart. He just keeps coming. No matter what you hit this guy with, no matter how hard you hit him, he just keeps moving forward. He's so hard to put away. Where does this put him right now? I don't know [Fabricio] Werdum is going to fight Cain Velasquez, and then we'll see where we go from there. After the fight tonight... I‘m no doctor, but I don't see Junior fighting anytime soon."
Unfortunately, Dos Santos has a history of significant facial swelling (photos here).
It was likely a very difficult fight for the Brazilian. Not only was he contending with a huge and very agile heavyweight, he was forced to go 25 minutes after spending 14 months on the sidelines due to a hand injury. That may explain his slow start in last Saturday night's main event, or he may be slowly starting to deteriorate.