To watch Alistair Overeem vs. Junior dos Santos full fight video highlights from UFC on FOX 17 last night click here.
It was a Heavyweight battle several years in the making, and in the end it would be Alistair Overeem (40-14 1NC) who would be victorious, proving he is still one of the very best in the 265-pound division.
Overeem finished Junior dos Santos (17-3) by technical knockout earlier tonight (Sat., Dec. 19, 2015) inside Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., to win his 40th career fight.
Overeem, 35, used a cautious approach and when he found his opening he made it count, landing a huge left hook to drop the former UFC champion for the technical knockout win.
The official time of the stoppage came at 4:43 of the second round.
No strikes were thrown for the first minute of the bout as both fighters were overly cautious, tentative and appearing to be waiting for the other to strike in order to counter. Overeem landed a solid knee to the body, a pair of low kicks and the most significant punch in the round--a left straight that bloodied the nose of dos Santos.
Overeem ate a kick to the groin to begin the second round and referee Dan Miragliotta halted the bout to give the Dutch veteran time to recover. The round was very similar to the first with both fighters picking their shots and remaining conservative. dos Santos did attempt a spinning-back kick, but did not find the mark. Overeem landed several low kicks and kicks to the body while circling toward dos Santos power side. With about a minute left, the former Strikeforce Heavyweight champioin landed a left-right combination on the Brazilian that opened a cut about his right eye.
Moments later, Overeem landed a huge left hook that dropped the former UFC heavyweight champion to the canvas. From there, Overeem landed hammer fists until Miragliotta stepped in to wave the bout off.
Huge win for Overeem, who was ranked No.9 heading into tonight's fight. dos Santos was ranked No.2, so the Dutch veteran appears to have put himself in clear title contention. He is now 5-3 in the UFC.
dos Santos falls to 11-3 in the UFC, but should not plummet too far down the rankings. His other two losses came to Cain Velasquez and the 31-year-old Brazilian could be showing signs of the cumulative damage from those bouts. That being said, he should remain among the top half of the division in the Heavyweight rankings.
For full UFC on FOX 17: "dos Anjos vs. Cerrone," including play-by-play results, click here.