» John Olav Einemo

UFC 131 Results & Review – Dos Santos A Legit Threat To Velasquez

nullJunior dos Santos was the No. 1 contender to the UFC heavyweight title coming into UFC 131, and he is still the No. 1 contender after UFC 131.

The 26-year-old heavyweight improved to 13-1 with a unanimous decision victory over Shane Carwin on Saturday, dominating the entire fight. Dos Santos’ reach proved to be a big factor as Carwin struggled to get inside Junior and dos Santos also showed impressive takedown defense to keep the fight standing.

In the first round, Carwin was nearly finished (and I personally would have stopped the fight) as he took a barrage of strikes from Junior that left him a bloody mess, but he managed to survive and last all 15 minutes.

Dos Santos looked as good as I have ever seen him and he appears to be a legit threat to UFC heavyweight champ, Cain Velasquez.

The co-main event saw Kenny Florian successfully make his featherweight debut by beating Diego Nunes by unanimous decision. Florian lost the first round on two scorecards but bounced back by controlling a tired Nunes for the final 10 minutes.

The other big win of the night came for Mark Munoz, who won a close decision over Demian Maia. All three rounds were competitive and close, but all judges scored the bout for the wrestler, Munoz. Maia showed impressive striking in the first round while Munoz controlled the fight with his wrestling in the final two rounds.

For complete UFC 131 results, check out the jump.

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UFC 131 Picks & Predictions

nullUFC 131 takes place on Saturday from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Here is a rundown of my takes on all the main card bouts.

Heavyweight Bout – Shane Carwin (12-1) vs. Junior dos Santos (12-1) – This should be an explosive fight and I see Carwin walking out the winner. I don’t see the fight going beyond five minutes as both fighters have explosive power. I suspect Carwin can take a punch better than dos Santos, which will allow him to earn a first round KO.

Featherweight Bout – Kenny Florian (13-5) vs. Diego Nunes (16-1) – This will be a tough test for Florian, who is making his 145-pound debut against Nunes, who is on a nice run as of late. If Florian can handle the weight cut and continue to fight his style, he should be able to out-class Nunes and secure a submission in the third. I suspect Florian will do just that.

Middleweight Bout – Demian Maia (14-2) vs. Mark Munoz (10-2) – Munoz is a tough guy, but I think he will struggle with Maia on the ground. I look for Maia to pull off an impressive submission in the second round on the wrestler.

Heavyweight Bout – John Olav Einemo (7-1) vs. Dave Herman (20-2) – Einemo seems to be one dimensional and just strong with his submissions while Herman is an impressive striker and well-conditioned fighter. My pick is Herman to win by knockout in the third round.

Lightweight Bout – Donald Cerrone (14-3) vs. Vagner Rocha (6-1) – I think Cerrone should control this fight from start to finish. I don’t see him finishing Rocha, who is good at submission defense, but I do see Cerrone getting the decision win.

  

UFC 131 Preview: Jon Olav Einemo vs. Dave Herman

nullIf you find yourself scratching your head during UFC 131 when the graphic for the John Olav Einemo vs. Dave Herman fight comes up, you probably won’t be the only one.

Both men are making their UFC debuts in the heavyweight division but are being put on the main PPV card. Interesting choice, but obviously the UFC must know something about these guys that we don’t.

Regardless, here is a look at both fighters heading into this contest.

John Olav Einemo (7-1) – Originally scheduled to face Shane Carwin, Einemo now gets Herman. Despite significantly less fights in his MMA career than his opponent, Einemo has faced some tough competition, including Fabricio Werdum, who was his lone loss back in 2006. He hasn’t competed in MMA since 2006 but is a world BJJ champion and a tremendous submission fighter. Hopefully he will come into the fight with some striking ability and now be like Marcio Cruz.

Dave Herman (20-2) – A veteran of Sengoku, Herman is young with a lot of MMA experience. He is in good shape and can push a solid pace. His one recent loss was by DQ for an illegal knee to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, a former UFC light heavyweight contender. Herman does most of his damage with his striking, earning 14 KO finishes with five submissions. He has had just one win go to a decision.

Who Will Win: It’s one thing to be good at jiu-jitsu, it is another thing to be good at it in MMA. If Einemo can’t get Herman to the ground, he isn’t going to win. When someone is so one dimensional, it doesn’t tend to make for good results. I like Herman to fight through some early takedown and pulled-guard attempts and earn a KO over a tired Einemo in the third round.