Junior dos Santos is back at Champion with Dória (his old team and coach)

[Toco]

it seems like he's back with his old team here in Brazil. not sure what to make of this, BUT he was pretty good back then, the only huge problem was how he fucking got trapped in the fence a lot and trying to get out of there with his guard down and also blocking punches with his face... something that ATT couldn't fix also

well, best of luck to him

 

[fandangler101]

Junior has always needs to work on his defense. With that being said I'll keep supporting him. War Cigano.

 

[Mixfight]

Junior Dos Santoast.

He had his run and it was a great one. But post the Cain maulings, post usada and post knee surgery he is a shell of his former self.

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

The teams not the only thing he has to bring back.....

#MakeJDSGreatAgain

 

[FlyingArmbarsAllDay]

Not gonna matter, it wasn't his strategy that was alarming vs Stipe, it was his timidness, or ability to "let his hands go." He's taken too much damage to become the champion again.

 

[k4lm4h]

Not sure why he ever left his boxing coach, whenever he works with him you can tell the difference in his hands. Same with shogun and cordeiro

 

[Dead Kennedy]

Crazy how he goes from looking like this...

To looking like that...

 

[DragonRising]

but is he back with his wife?

she is the secret..

lets go champ

 

[Thepaintbucket]

I never understood why he left in the first place. Yeah, he needed work with his clinch game, wrestling, etc. Perhaps he felt like he needed a new perceptive on things. But did ATT help him at all? His boxing and defense has gone down the toilet.

 

[LargeMammal]

Interesting. If he can make a successful return to the style of fighting that made him in the first place this is only a good thing for him.

I remember when Cigano first came onto the scene and he was KOing dudes all over the place.

At that time he was a scary opponent. The way he'd point at the ring in his introduction then go on to batter his opponent. He didn't speak much either and that contributed to his scary persona.

Around the time of the first Cain fight he received a lot of publicity which if I remember correctly seemed to portray him much more as a 'nice guy' and he admitted to being more of a 'hippie' who just happened to try fighting one day. With this in mind, I think JDS was very poorly marketed by the UFC as they could've easily maintained his scary persona and I can't help but think a lot of fighters lost that 'fear' of him at this point and his mental edge was hugely reduced. Even though he KOd Cain very impressively he was perceived through his PR appearances to be very much the 'nice guy' of the UFC HW division. Cain clearly had no problem coming back and disposing of him. What I'm implying is (and I know it sounds fickle or even ridiculous) I get the impression that had JDS maintained a scary/aggressive persona he would've had far more mental impact on his opponents through the latter part of his career, rather than being the smily, ultra polite ex hippie who got big & strong then decided to start fighting. Just a wild stupid suggestion, but can't help it as a gut feeling.

 

[Cucumber Slice]

Crazy how he goes from looking like this...

To looking like that...

Have you never flexed in the mirror before?

 

[felmmando]

What I'm implying is (and I know it sounds fickle or even ridiculous) I get the impression that had JDS maintained a scary/aggressive persona he would've had far more mental impact on his opponents through the latter part of his career, rather than being the smily, ultra polite ex hippie who got big & strong then decided to start fighting. Just a wild stupid suggestion, but can't help it as a gut feeling.

Athletes who come across as nice people (I have no idea what they're like in their private lives) can do very well in the cage. Frankie Edgar, Rashad Evans and Uriah Faber come to mind.

 

[Yung Dilla]

No JDS that's not gonna help. Usada isn't leaving anytime soon.

 

[Mikey Palangio]

Old coach isn't going give you back a killer's instinct. Cigano was afraid to get banged by Stipe, he got caught with a straight slow punch.

He is lucky the HW division is light.

 

[LargeMammal]

Athletes who come across as nice people (I have no idea what they're like in their private lives) can do very well in the cage. Frankie Edgar, Rashad Evans and Uriah Faber come to mind.

Yeah you're probably right, I guess JDS could have experienced a slip in his career for a whole host of more logical reasons. Maybe he lost heart after getting physically mauled by Cain twice. Understandable.

I guess I just wanted for the sake of entertainment to have a real bad-ass KO king at Heavyweight. I felt at the time that was just what the division needed and he fit the bill perfectly with his awesome one-punch power and slightly mysterious persona. Once he was exposed as a happy smily guy, whilst of course I liked him (who doesn't like JDS???) I just do feel that a lot of his menacing aura was lost and his opponents sensed that too. You remember when people were genuinely scared of Tyson? If JDS (or Rumble at LHW for that matter) had maintained more of a mean/aggressive character outside of the ring I think there's a small chance they could've experienced more success.

 

[LargeMammal]

Cigano was afraid to get banged by Stipe, he got caught with a straight slow punch.

He is lucky the HW division is light.

Remember when JDS claimed that with 6 weeks training he could beat Wlad Klitschko? Just another example of an unfortunately deluded striking-based MMA fighter who for some unknown reason assumes they can easily transfer to the top level of boxing. Love JDS but that was one of his dumbest comments.

 

[Mikey Palangio]

Remember when JDS claimed that with 6 weeks training he could beat Wlad Klitschko? Just another example of an unfortunately deluded striking-based MMA fighter who for some unknown reason assumes they can easily transfer to the top level of boxing. Love JDS but that was one of his dumbest comments.

MMA strikers don't understand the punches they get caught with (no set up punches, slow straight 1 and 2 punches, looping off balance punches) will NEVER touch a top boxer in his prime.

 

[LargeMammal]

MMA strikers don't understand the punches they get caught with (no set up punches, slow straight 1 and 2 punches, looping off balance punches) will NEVER touch a top boxer in his prime.

Totally agree. When it comes to punching offence/defence MMA fighters are infantile compared to top ranking boxers. The experience deficit & huge difference in talent depth between the sports is overwhelming. This is a topic that has been debated hundreds of times here on Sherdog, but the answer is obvious.

How on earth does any self-respecting fight fan expect Conor to stand a chance against Money?

 

[Hidden_Hand]

JDS never got any worse he just got older and slower and everyone else got better and caught up.

He KO'd all the middle of the pack guys and now he consistently fights the top 3 and you ain't running through them.

Plus Cain happened.

Moving camp will do nothing at this point in his career, what's he gonna do? get his youth back? Hi speed back?

Evolution is savage.

 

[KarateYeah]

Jds will be champ again