Junior dos Santos Beat Cain Velasquez Despite Knee Injury, Will Have Surgery

I didn’t think Junior dos Santos could top his 64-second KO of Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on FOX Saturday, but the latest twist suggests he may have. Dos Santos won the fight despite being hobbled by a torn meniscus in his knee that reportedly had him on crutches 10 days prior to the bout. The injury is so bad dos Santos reportedly will have surgery.

According to fightline.com, “Brazilian journalist Marcelo Alonso appeared on The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo and revealed that dos Santos has confirmed that he will go under the knife.”

Dos Santos’ doctor also said after the UFC on FOX show that his fighter would undergo surgery. Dos Santos wasn’t planning on going a full five rounds with Cain Velasquez because of the knee, and that could be a big reason why he went after Cain so hard early in the fight.

Additionally, it’s been far less reported that Cain Velasquez also fought with a knee injury. UFC commentator Joe Rogan says Velasquez hurt his knee in training and required a cortisone shot before the fight. Both men could have considered pulling out of the fight, but neither one wanted to give up such a huge opportunity.

As long as dos Santos recovers in time, he should be on schedule to face the Alistair Overeem-Brock Lesnar winner for the Heavyweight Championship.