Junior dos Santos Fights Gilbert Yvel at UFC 108 on January 2
Heavyweight up-and-comer Junior dos Santos, left without an opponent when Gabriel Gonzaga was forced to withdraw from their UFC 108 matchup with a staph infection, will instead square off against controversial veteran and UFC newcomer Gilbert Yvel at the January 2 event in Las Vegas, according to Tatame.
Dos Santos (9-1) upset contender Fabricio Werdum with a first-round knockout last October in his UFC debut, then picked up back-to-back TKOs of Stefan Struve and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic in 2009.
Yvel (36-13-1), a PRIDE veteran known for assaulting a referee and multiple disqualifications, won seven-straight before impressing in a third-round TKO loss to Josh Barnett in Affliction in January, then bounced back with a first-round knockout of Pedro Rizzo in June.
UFC 108 is headlined by light heavyweight contenders Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva, and also features Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller and Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley.
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Pictured: Junior dos Santos
Tags: Gilbert Yvel, Junior dos Santos
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Well, lets see how long it takes before Yvel tries thumbing Dos Santos in the eye, like he did against Don Frye, or biting someone, like he did Frye and a fighter who’s name I cant recall.
Also, I’ll be interested to see if he holds onto the cage for deal life like he does the ring ropes.
And if he were to take a shot at Herb Dean, Herb would probably throw him a beating on the spot.
;)
Lets assume for the sake of this thread that Yvel behaves himself, which is a fairly large assumption. In the last 2 years he’s won 4 of his last 5 against somewhat capable competition, and of course lost to Josh Barnett.
Both of these men are undersized for the “new” UFC HW division, but both are serious strikers. Dos Santos was a national kickboxing champion in his native Brazil, and Yvel lives and trains in the Euro-kickboxing ground zero of Holland.
On paper this should be a great fight if it stays standing, but once it hits the ground, Dos Santos, a BlackHouse product and BJJ brownbelt, should end things pretty quickly…
I was pretty excited to see this article. I think this will be a great fight with Dos Santos coming out on top via strikes.
I wonder what it says about modern athletes when a 6’4″ 238lb’er is considered slightly undersized for his division. I guess it says the obvious…mma is attracting bigger, more skilled men.
However, when 238lbs is spread out over a 6’4″ frame and there is enough brains and skill backing it up, I don’t think Junior is as handicapped as you might think. As for Gilbert, I don’t know him well enough to comment, but he strikes me as the type that I’d like to see get crumbled quickly and given his walking papers even quicker.
Bottom line is, I may actually pay for 108 now.
Just as an FYI, I wasn’t really blasting either fighter for their size, just noticing like you said that it really says something about the current UFC HW landscape when guys at 235 or 240 are regarded as smallish for their weightclass.
Maybe the smaller, lighter HWs will emerge at the top of the foodchain because of [presumably] superior cardio and athleticism, but I’m thinking that against the super HWs, they’re most likely going to get gNp’ed into wicked ref stoppage losses…
No, I see where you’re coming from and I agree.
Dos Santos is a purple belt in BJJ, not a brown belt.
According to wikipedia, admittedly not the greatest MMA resource, Dos Santos carries the rank of brown belt in BJJ, while ufc.com is reporting that its a purple belt.
Does anyone out there have anything definitive, or did Dos Santos simply qualify as purple?
This should be a good fight standing like Jcohl mentioned. Yvel took a beating from Barnett. If it hits the mat Dos Santos has a good chance of a sub.
Really? I mean pardon my ignorance as I have not seen all of Dos Santos’ fights (only 1 outside of the UFC), but does he really have a sound ground game? I mean he does train with the Nogeira’s, but Wes Sims also trains with Coleman and Randalman and can’t wrestle at high school level. Honestly, no sarcasm, am I missing something?
hes got a purple belt in bjj under the noguieras
Not to compare, but Pete Sell is also a high level brown belt under Matt Serra (unless he upgaded to black belt. Matt Serra is a black belt under Renzo Gracie. Once again, not trying to be ignorant, but I am aware of the credentials of Dos Santos. Has anyone here seen the credentials performed? That is the question I am asking.
Holy hell, I didn’t realize none of Yvel’s wins came by decision. Of the 36, 31 are (t)kos.
Justin had made reference to this lately, but man thats a serious fight. I personally want to see Santos get truly tested and a win over Yvel would definately help with that.
Dont be surprised to see the winner of this fight taking on the winner of Kongo/Mir(or Carwin if he decides to fight and not wait for Brock) for a potential title shot. Or as Dana likes to say “in the mix”
Honestly, what is Gilbert Yvel back in the UFC. I understand the Dos Santos was left without an opponent and people want to see him fight and NO ONE would want to step up to fight this guy on short notice unless they were stupid but Gilbert Yvel… Whatever, I hope he takes a beating. This would have been a perfect Heath Herring appearance though :)
Gilbert impressed me in his loss against Barnett. He took a beating and fought hard from the bottom. His striking was and is impressive. This will be a entertaining fight. Gilbert TKO round 2.
This is a big fight. I hope Dos Santos doesn’t fool himself into thinking he can hand with Yvel standing, ’cause if he does it’ll be lights out Junior. The only way I see Dos Santos winning this is by controlling Yvel on the ground on the way to a UD. But I’ll be cheering for and putting my money on Yvel.
I am excited about this fight, for sure. Both men are dangerous strikers and I’m glad to see Yvel in the UFC, as long as he can behave himself.
Second that. I think this is a better match-up than what was initially set-up with Gonzaga. Both men are in need to make a name in the mainstream spotlight, as unfortunately the win over Cro-Cop did an insigificant amount of gain for Dos Santos. Too bad, but sometimes that is how it rolls in the big show against a big name.
hopefully yvel doesnt ko steve mazzagatti if he loses to dos santos ;)……but in all seriousness this is gonna be a great fight….really glad zuffa finally signed gilbert also a huge thumbs up to joe silva for making a really good fight
If Yvel KOs the Maz… Lesnar will be his fan for life. haha. ;)
Lmao. I only hope so, unless he’s sporting that mustache.
Kongo vs Yvel 2 coming soon