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So, Cain looked utterly dominant against a horribly unfit Dos Santos. Amazes me how unfit MMA fighters are. I've taken part in some inter-club competitions (and have received some nasty beatings) and I still manage to fight harder than these supposed full time athletes. Makes you wonder what kind of training they are actually doing.

Thoughts on the fight and his next challenger...

Thought it was an immense display from Cain, just a shame he couldn't finish him. JDS showed a lot of heart to keep going but I agree, he looked very unfit. Even before that big right hand in the first he didn't seem right.

You could tell Cain had a point to prove after what happened last time, he took JDS' will.

There will be a rematch next year but I can see the result being the same.

Fitness is an individual thing, I don't think we can say MMA fighters are unfit or compared to their boxing counterparts, your comments after Macdonanald vs Penn, its down to the individual fighter. If you had watched the rest of the card on both events you would see this is not the case, neither did Macdonald or Cain gas in their respective fights. The Diaz brothers are both very fit guys who have a very high work rate & compete in triathlons. Maybe we could ask the same about what seems the majority of HW boxers.

Now with redgards to JDS he did appear to gas early, before the big right, It does question his fitness, which has always been excellent or whether he was ill. I did read an interview with one of the Nog's who said JDS was in excellent shape & would finish Cain within 3 rounds.

Another thing that came up was that Cain said last time he wasn't 100% going into the fight & with hindsight you can maybe agree. One thing i felt last time was that JDS was a bit lucky with that punch, it caught Cain high behind the ear & slightly more with the underside of the fist rather than the front & that Cain seemed to duck into it. If you've ever been hit behind the ear you'll know it has a massive effect, making you very dizzy & off balance. Also we have never seen JDS look so dominant, he'd never done that to anybody before or since. I do look forward to the 3rd installment but i would also edge towards Cain as I feel he is more rounded than JDS, the line of thought most had going into the 1st fight.

I generally do find MMA fighters are not fit. The undercard fight was awful as well. They just slugged it out in the 3rd which is tough no doubt, but a little technique and crisper punches would've won that fight comfortably.

Lets not forget that most fights are 15 minutes. Total novices in boxing pro ranks complete that distance comfortably. Fitness is something MMA needs to work on. Having competed in both I can safely say from my point of view MMA is no harder than boxing, possibly a little easier.

I tend to agree with you about crisper boxing being more effective than slugging it out as well as keeping your hands up but I have no experience with MMA & as there are other factors in MMA I wouldn't like to say 100%. Also due to the 4oz gloves a hayemaker is always going to have much more effect than in boxing.

Now with regards to fitness levels I still feel its an individual thing & if a fighter gasses early then he should be working on that for his next fight & the forseable future. Fighters such as the Diaz bros, GSP, Silva, Cain, Macdondald, Condit, Bisping, Hardy amongst others are all real cardio machines & come in in fantastic shape & i believe any sport they had taken up they would've been the same. But I do except that this what you have found in your experinces & I won't argue with you on that. I would also add that I do think there are a number of fighters at all levels that do rely on strength & imo seem to focus more on that at the expense of cardio & conditioning training.

A little surprised that you found MMA possibly easier I would've have thought it would be the same, no short cuts etc. I have done boxing & kick boxing but never fought, & have to say i find kick boxing harder than boxing, 3 minute rounds kicking on the bag zaps you far more than just punching & I found kicks hurt a lot more in both sparring & pad work.

Cain looked superb, pure domination from start to finish!

Before the fight I favoured JDS as i expected him to connect with a big punch at some point during the fight but fair play to Cain.

JDS did look like he gassed but has probbaly never had a guy with the stamina and ability of Cain going at him for 5 rounds.

The UFC want a rubber match which will be big business but other than that it's surely the winner of Overeem vs Big foot.

The UFC will be praying for a Overeem win as he's a bigger name and Cain has already comprehensively beaten Big foot.

JDS was gassed before the big punch in the 1st round!

I agree fitness is an individual thing, but MMA fighters are generally not as fit as their boxing counterparts. Not sure why that is, possibly not training as hard, or missing of those sprint drills and hill runs.

I've never seen a boxer gas as badly as Carwin did in a championship fight in a boxing match at any level.

I'll concede we are seeing more top level MMA fighters with stamina issues than their boxing counterparts which is crazy from their point of view, having a full tank is vital especially as we are now seeing more 5 round fights. Its almost another weapon in your arsenal with the ability to finish a fight late or take the last couple of rounds on points & when you're only doing 3 - 5 will make the difference.

I don't think I've seen any MMA fighter appear to gas as quickly as JDS! At least Carwin went hell for leather for the 1st round.