Junior dos Santos Scouting Report

Junior dos Santos Scouting Report

Vitals

6’4″ 238.5 lbs (Heavyweight)
77″ reach, Orthodox
January 30, 1984

Record

21-9 (UFC: 15-8)

Current Streak

4 straight losses

Training

Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Championships Held

UFC Heavyweight Champion: 2011-2012 (one successful title defense)

Strengths

– elite MMA striker
– one of the hardest punchers in the sport (gets a lot of knockdowns)
– devastating knockout artist – vast majority of wins come via KO
– very active striker
– also a fairly accurate striker – lands about half his significant strikes
– very good at out-striking opponents
– extremely accurate with his takedowns
– also very successful stuffing opponent’s takedown attempts
– when an opponent has been able to take him down, he often has gotten back up immediately
– good cardio – striking pace doesn’t fall much as fight progresses
– very well coached

Weaknesses

– slightly below average reach for his height
– despite being a BJJ black belt, doesn’t utilize his ground game
– doesn’t utilize kicks very often
– can be knocked out
– can be worn down as fight goes on
– becoming a one-dimensional fighter – only boxes
– has habit of backing up against cage
– best years seem to be behind him
– has taken a lot of damage over his career
– TKO’d his last four fights

Synopsis

Junior dos Santos might be the nicest guy in the world outside of the Octagon, but once that cage door closes, he’s a killer and an elite fighter.