Sherdog’s Top 10: Moments When Titles Changed Hands

Junior dos Santos shined in the UFC’s debut on Fox. | Photo: D. Mandel/Sherdog.com

8. Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez
UFC on Fox 1
Nov. 12, 2011 | Anaheim, Calif.

It was a new dawn for the UFC, which was debuting on Fox after agreeing to a landmark deal with the network. Its heavyweight division had been a barren wasteland for years, until Brock Lesnar came along, but the former World Wrestling Entertainment star saw his time in the cage interrupted by continuous illness. When Velasquez flattened him with punches a year earlier, Lesnar was thought to have been exposed as more hype than substance. Velasquez was the real deal, though, and the UFC tried everything it could to tap into the Latino marketplace. When the promotion finally linked arms with Fox, Velasquez was a natural headliner for the first telecast.

The UFC opted to televise only the Velasquez-dos Santos fight. Though many insiders scowled at the move, UFC President Dana White and the powers that be felt that it was best to air an entire show’s worth of documentary-type footage to promote the fighters. Still, Velasquez was the star, and the fight was supposed to catapult him to even greater heights.

In just 64 seconds, the fight was over, and dos Santos had changed the heavyweight landscape. A loopy overhand right exploded behind the champion’s ear, dropping him where he stood. Dos Santos pounced and pounded away until Velasquez was done. The American Kickboxing Academy ace eventually regained his title, but injuries have since plagued his career and limited his ability to continue living up to great expectations.

Number 7 » ‘The Iceman’ Cometh