• UFC on Fox

Underhand Velasquez tactics backfired - Dos Santos

ESPN staff
November 23, 2011
Junior Dos Santos knocked Cain Velasquez out in 64 seconds at the UFC on Fox event © Getty Images
Enlarge

Junior Dos Santos believes Cain Velasquez's plan to seek an unfair advantage ultimately cost him his UFC title in their recent heavyweight bout.

Dos Santos went into the fight with a serious knee injury, having torn his meniscus 11 days out from the bout. The Brazilian attempted to keep the problem a secret, but believes the Velasquez camp found out.

When the pair met in the Octagon in the UFC's debut on Fox, Velasquez abandoned his wrestling to attack Dos Santos' leg. Several kicks were aimed at the knee, but that only served to keep the fight standing long enough for Dos Santos to knock his opponent out.

In Dos Santos' eyes, Velasquez's tactics were totally foreign to what he had expected, and the new champion wonders if there was a clear plan to target the injury.

"We knew that his strategy was to take me down but I don't know if he knew about the injury [to my knee]," Dos Santos said on SporTV.

"But in one minute and four seconds he had kicked me in the knee seven times so I suspect he probably knew about the injury. That might be why was happy to fight standing with me, which I don't think he would in normal circumstances."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close