Junior dos Santos - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Junior dos Santos Almeida, also known as Junior Cigano (Brazilian ˈʒũnjoʁ dus ˈsɐ̃tus; born September 12, 1984), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. Dos Santos fights in the Heavyweight division, under the tutelage of former UFC and Pride Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...

and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva

Anderson da Silva is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the promotion's longest reigning champion. With 14 consecutive wins, Silva holds the longest winning streak and title defense streak in UFC history...

. As of November 2011, he is ranked as the #1 heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.com, MMAWeekly, MMAfighting.com and FightMagazine.com.

Mixed martial arts career

Dos Santos started practicing martial arts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Yuri Carlton due to fitness reasons. After some time, he was invited to make a MMA practice, where he met his boxing coach, Dorea, and after roughly a year, made his debut fight.

Early career

Dos Santos became professional in 2006 at the age of 21. He fought in small promotions in Brazil, such as Demo Fight, Extreme Fighting Championship, Minotauro Fights and Mo Team League. He won 6 out of his first 7 bouts, suffering his only loss to Joaquim Ferreira, a fighter he'd previously beaten.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (2008–present)

Dos Santos debuted for the UFC at UFC 90
UFC 90
UFC 90: Silva vs. Côté was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 25, 2008 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The main event featured UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva vs Patrick Côté....

. Considered a major underdog, dos Santos knocked out top contender Fabricio Werdum

Fabricio Werdum

Fabricio Werdum is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, a two-time ADCC world heavyweight champion and European Jiu-Jitsu champion. He holds black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, and Muay Thai. Werdum has competed in Pride Fighting Championships, the...

in the first round with a strong uppercut.

Dos Santos returned at UFC 95
UFC 95
UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 21, 2009 at The O2 Arena in London, England. It was broadcast live for viewers in Europe and Canada and later tape delayed for U.S. viewers on Spike...

and fought promotional newcomer Stefan Struve by defeating him in the first round by TKO.

Dos Santos continued his winning streak and defeated Mirko Filipović

Mirko Filipovic

Mirko Filipović is a former Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, mixed martial artist, politician, and law enforcement officer. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007...

at UFC 103
UFC 103
UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 19, 2009 in Dallas at the American Airlines Center. The event was broadcasted on pay-per-view.-Background :...

. During the third round, dos Santos dominated Filipović in the clinch with knee strikes and punches. A knee from the clinch and a right uppercut left Cro Cop unable to see causing him to verbally submit from the fight.

Dos Santos was supposed to fight Gabriel Gonzaga

Gabriel Gonzaga

Gabriel Gonzaga , is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a former member of Chute Boxe Academy and now fights out of Ludlow, Massachusetts as a part of Team Link...

at UFC 108

UFC 108

UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.- Background :...

. However, Gonzaga pulled out of the bout on November 25, 2009, due to a staph infection. Instead, dos Santos fought Gilbert Yvel

Gilbert Yvel

Gilbert Ramon Yvel is a Dutch heavyweight mixed martial artist associated with the Vos Gym training camp in the Netherlands. He has competed in the Pride Fighting Championships, Affliction Entertainment and Ultimate Fighting Championship promotions...

, winning the fight via TKO in the first round, giving him his fourth straight UFC victory, finishing all his opponents by way of strikes.

Dos Santos defeated Gabriel Gonzaga on March 21, 2010, at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones

UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones

UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 21, 2010 in Broomfield, Colorado, United States at the 1stBank Center. This event was the UFC's debut on Versus...

by knockout in the first round.

Heavyweight title contender

Dos Santos faced Roy Nelson

Roy Nelson (fighter)

Roy Nelson is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. He last competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after winning Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. The September 30, 2009 broadcast of his fight against Kimbo Slice, officially an exhibition, was the 2nd...

on August 7, 2010, at UFC 117

UFC 117

UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 7, 2010 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, United States.-Background:...

. The fight saw Dos Santos use a variety of strikes and, for the first time, a successful takedown. Despite dos Santos' striking ability, Nelson was able to stay in the fight, resulting in the fight going to decision. Dos Santos won via unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27, 30–27).

On January 11, 2011, it was revealed that Dos Santos would be one of the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter Season 13

The Ultimate Fighter 13

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos is the thirteenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter....

, opposite to Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar

Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...

. They were scheduled to face each other on June 11, 2011, at UFC 131

UFC 131

UFC 131: Dos Santos vs. Carwin was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Background:...

, but Lesnar pulled out due to illness and was replaced by Shane Carwin

Shane Carwin

Shane Bannister Carwin is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , where he was previously the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion...

. Dos Santos dominated Carwin and defeated him via unanimous decision, relying predominantly on his boxing skills, but showed more variety in his game by landing a couple of kicks and completing two takedowns in the third round.

UFC Heavyweight Champion

Dos Santos faced Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez

Cain Ramirez Velasquez is an American mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and a Junior College National Champ at Iowa...

at UFC on Fox 1 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on November 12, 2011. Dos Santos defeated Velasquez in 1 minute and 4 seconds of the first round via KO to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship title. Dos Santos dropped Velasquez with a right hand and finished him off with punches. The performance also earned Knockout of the Night honors. After the fight, it was revealed that he had a torn meniscus in his knee, which is set to undergo surgery in the near future.

Dos Santos is set to defend the UFC Heavyweight Championship title against the winner of the UFC 141

UFC 141

UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem is an upcoming mixed martial arts event to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...

main event, between Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar

and Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem

Alistair Cees Overeem is a British born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer, signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Interim Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and made history by being the only fighter in combat...

Personal life

Dos Santos states that Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

is his hero. Dos Santos speaks English, in addition to his native Portuguese. He got nickname "Cigano" from showing up to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

practice with long hair put in a ponytail

Ponytail

A ponytail is a hairstyle in which most or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip or similar device, and allowed to hang freely from that point. It gets its name from its resemblance to the undocked tail of a...

, which made him look like the character "Cigano" from an old Brazilian soap opera, meaning Gypsy in Portuguese. He is a Roman Catholic. He has also stated that as a child he actually hated fighting and unwillingly fought 3 street fights (One of which he won and he lost the other two, however he stated that those losses were because of his timidness to fight at the time).

Fighting style

Originally a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, dos Santos is primarily known for his tight Boxing-esque technique, which has been forged by Luiz Carlos Dorea since he began training in MMA: his accuracy, speed, knockout power and vast repertoire of punches make him a danger in the standup fighting. He also trains in Muay Thai, but relies mainly on his hand strikes. Dos Santos also has showed proficiency in Wrestling, being able to apply good takedowns on Shane Carwin and revealing to be very hard to be taken down. He holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is trained by Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
- UFC Heavyweight Championship (One time, current)
- Knockout of the Night
  Bonus Awards
  -Background:UFC Bonus Awards are three different kinds of awards usually given to four fighters after a UFC event.Fight of the Night - Award given to the two fighters that fought each other and delivered the "most impressive" fight on the card....
  
  (Three times)
FIGHT! Magazine
- 2008 Upset of the Year vs. Fabricio Werdum

Mixed martial arts record

|-
|Win
|align=center| 14–1
|Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez

| KO (punches)
|UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos

UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos

UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event was the fifth that the UFC has hosted in Anaheim.-Background:This card marked the UFC's debut on the Fox Network...

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 13–1
| Shane Carwin

Shane Carwin

| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 131

UFC 131

UFC 131: Dos Santos vs. Carwin was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 11, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Background:...

|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
|

|-
| Win
|align=center| 12–1
| Roy Nelson

Roy Nelson (fighter)

| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 117

UFC 117

UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 7, 2010 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, United States.-Background:...

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 11–1
| Gabriel Gonzaga

Gabriel Gonzaga

| KO (punches)
| UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones

UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones

Broomfield, Colorado

The City and County of Broomfield is a prominent suburb and tier of the Denver metropolitan area in the State of Colorado of the United States. Broomfield has a consolidated city and county government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 10–1
| Gilbert Yvel

Gilbert Yvel

| TKO (punches)
| UFC 108

UFC 108

UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.- Background :...

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 9–1
| Mirko Filipovic

Mirko Filipovic

| Submission (punch)
| UFC 103

UFC 103

UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 19, 2009 in Dallas at the American Airlines Center. The event was broadcasted on pay-per-view.-Background :...

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 8–1
| Stefan Struve
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 95

UFC 95

UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 21, 2009 at The O2 Arena in London, England. It was broadcast live for viewers in Europe and Canada and later tape delayed for U.S. viewers on Spike...

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 7–1
| Fabricio Werdum

Fabricio Werdum

| KO (punches)
| UFC 90

UFC 90

UFC 90: Silva vs. Côté was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 25, 2008 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The main event featured UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva vs Patrick Côté....

Rosemont, Illinois

Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States located immediately northwest of Chicago. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–1
| Geronimo dos Santos

Geronimo dos Santos

Geronimo "Mondragon" dos Santos is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who fights in the heavyweight division. He currently has a record of 26 wins and 13 losses with none of his fights making it to a decision, or even the third round....

Salvador, Bahia

Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...

Joaquim Ferreira (fighter)

Joaquim "Mamute" Ferreira is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who has fought for M-1 Global. Ferreira is currently a member of M-1 Mixfight Team Brazil. Joaquim recently signed with North American promotion Shine Fights...

São Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–0
| Jair Goncalves

Jair Goncalves

Jair Goncalves is a Brazilian professional mixed martial arts fighter. He currently fights for World Free Fight Challenge.-Background:Goncalves trains out of Gracie Barra Pitbull and Los Lokos Team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil....

São Paulo

, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4–0
| Joaquim Ferreira

Joaquim Ferreira (fighter)

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

Rio de Janeiro

, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 2–0
| Eduardo Maiorino

Eduardo Maiorino

Eduardo "Morpheus" Maiorino is a Brazilian kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He is a former three-time Brazilian Heavyweight Muay Thai champion, the K-1 Brazil 2004 tournament champion, and a former World Muay Thai Association Super Heavyweight World Champion.-Biography and career:Eduardo...

São Bernardo do Campo

São Bernardo do Campo is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, in southern Metropolitan São Paulo and São Paulo microregion. The municipality's total area is 408.45 km ² and a population estimated at 1 July 2009, according to the IBGE, was 810,979 inhabitants, which results in a population...

Salvador, Bahia

, Brazil
|

External links

Official UFC Profile

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