It was just frustrating to watch him fight tonight. He made no adjustments whatsoever since their last fight. I'm taking nothing away from Velasquez who did what he needed to do and beat the living crap out of JDS, but I was expecting Dos Santos to make some changes to his approach and to surprise Cain. He wasn't setting anything up. He was just throwing predictable KO shots every time. All Cain had to do is what he usually does. That's exactly what he did and it paid off.
Dos Santos insists on showing no respect for Cain's striking, and it's just mind boggling. Did his team fail him, or did Junior forget everything they had drilled as soon as the fight began?
Cain Velasquez is a monster. Props to him for delivering the goods tonight. As a JDS fan, it was tough to watch.
I mean, I understand that it's hard to prepare for a guy like Cain, but you'd think ANY approach would be better than trying exactly what failed the last time.
No improvement? I thought those elbows in the clench were a pretty good improvement, clearly they knew to work on that with him. That was a pretty significant improvement. Junior improves every fight and he will be back for that belt one day. I think he needs some new training partners though, more well known guys that are ranked. He is the only real super star in his gym. As far as coaching staff though, he is good.
I think JDS needs space to be successful, and Cain gave him none. He's also not that quick on his feet. Cain is fast and strong, it's just a bad matchup. Maybe he needs to train with Hackleford and do some Liddell type stuff?
If you need a new camp to make such basic common sense adjustments then you have bigger issues. Junior feels more confident fighting against the takedown along the cage and he feels more confident getting back up to his feet from there as well. That's all fine and dandy, but it's the exact type of fight Cain wants.
rlamor - No improvement? I thought those elbows in the clench were a pretty good improvement, clearly they knew to work on that with him. That was a pretty significant improvement. Junior improves every fight and he will be back for that belt one day. I think he needs some new training partners though, more well known guys that are ranked. He is the only real super star in his gym. As far as coaching staff though, he is good.
He was throwing those in the second fight (kinda),so really, that's not an improvement.
Also, if that is really a significant improvement, Junior REALLY needs a new camp.
And as Pancake said, his takedown defense did stun me. Training with those wrestlers paid off. Junior was way too concerned about the takedown to let his hands go, and at certain points let Cain tee off on him with his hands completely down at his sides. I just don't think Junior was in this fight at all.
rlamor - No improvement? I thought those elbows in the clench were a pretty good improvement, clearly they knew to work on that with him. That was a pretty significant improvement. Junior improves every fight and he will be back for that belt one day. I think he needs some new training partners though, more well known guys that are ranked. He is the only real super star in his gym. As far as coaching staff though, he is good.
He was throwing those in the second fight (kinda),so really, that's not an improvement.
Also, if that is really a significant improvement, Junior REALLY needs a new camp.
And as Pancake said, his takedown defense did stun me. Training with those wrestlers paid off. Junior was way too concerned about the takedown to let his hands go, and at certain points let Cain tee off on him with his hands completely down at his sides. I just don't think Junior was in this fight at all.
They were landing well, if he would've used them a little more to create some space rather than trying and knock him out it might've played out a little better, compared to the 2nd fight, though I thought there were some improvements made.
On a side note, junior is my favorite fighter so whatever I say will be extremely biased toward him.
I think Cain has the better camp as far as a whole, but juniors coaches are great at what they do. He needs better training partners though.
As joe said iron sharpens iron, and I don't think junior has that iron in his camp. He should train more often with team Nog, like he used to.
Yeah, as a few pointed out, his TDD was very good. However, it's not like it was a weakness before.
The elbows were a nice touch, yes, but "exactly what we did last time, plus elbows" doesn't strike me as quite enough of an adjustment to make all the difference in the world when you're fighting a beast like Cain.
I think it's pretty clear that Velasquez stylistically has Junior's number. Sadly, the HW division is in a bit of a bad spot, because JDS can beat everyone in it, except for the champion. There may be no way out of a 4th fight for those two at some point in the future. Unless JDS makes some significant changes to his skill set, I think it'll be yet another copy of the last two fights. Sure, JDS always has a monstrous puncher's chance, but it's frustrating to see him take desperate swings that mostly miss the target, only to get pressured and beaten against the fence.
I think junior should have gone for some takedowns. No, he might not have got them but at least he could have kept Cain guessing a bit. Change it up and make him think a little before he just charges in knowing there's zero fear of you changing levels on him.
Reed Rothchild - JDS should have circled in middle cage and use his jab more... You can't let Cain stuff you in the corner like that. If you see how JDS Cain in the first fight it was in the center of the cage. A new camp wouldn't hurt either
this is what i was saying during the fight. JDS needs to learn to work the jab and cirlce away instead of getting backed right to the cage. he is way too heavy footed out there.
I don't understand why he was moving away with his hands down? When they would separate after the clinch I was screaming at the tv to get his hands up.
When they separate, get your hands up and throw!
Can anyone explain to me why he wasn't keeping his hands up? Was it fear of the takedown? Too tired? Not good enough? I really don't understand it.
