Even entering the ring to the theme tune from Rocky – usually the sure sign of an unimaginative bell-end – is not enough to provoke animosity towards Junior Dos Santos; he seems to be a genuinely nice, and humble, person. His victory over Cain Velasquez at UFC on Fox brought him the title of undisputed heavyweight champion – and he celebrated by bursting into tears.
A right to the temple in the first minute of the first round, dropped Velasquez to the floor – at which point Dos Santos promptly pummelled him until referee John McCarthy mercifully stepped in to end the fight, and Velasquez’s brief reign as the champ. After his victory – in stark contrast to much of the macho posturing that goes on in MMA – Dos Santos admitted that he’d been scared of Velasquez, and repeated his belief that if you are good and humble, then good things will happen to you.
As pleasing as it is to see such a decent guy make it to the top, the draw back will be the inevitably tedious marketing of a ‘Good vs. Evil’ fight against Brock Lesnar.
As the UFC’s biggest draw, Lesnar’s name is never too far from the heavyweight title picture, and should he beat Alistair Overeem on December 30th at UFC 141, expect Brock’s pro-wrestling ‘heel’ persona to be out in full force.
By Peter Simpson
