The Film Room: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
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Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos will walk to the Octagon for the eighth time this weekend when he takes on Curtis Millender in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 146. Zaleski has been one of the most underrated fighters in the division for years and now he finally gets a chance to break into the Top 10 with a win over the highly-touted prospect.
Dos Santos is one of the most fearless strikers in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today but what separates him from the others is his intelligence and overall fight IQ. Although he spends a lot of time mercifully swinging punches in the pocket, he does so in a smarter way. Instead of randomly rushing forward with combos, "Capoeira" likes to wait until the opponent misses a strike and puts themselves off balance before blitzing forward with wild combos. He’s basically countering the missed opportunities with a long sequence of strikes instead of a single attack. Dos Santos also doesn't spend the entire fight trading in the pocket and will often spend entire rounds patiently striking on the outside until he feels the moment is right to push forward. Something else that makes his aggressive style better than others is his variety of attacks. He’s always mixing up his punches from head to toe and likes to add in kicks to the body and legs during these long stretches of trading in the pocket.
The only way to make this aggressive style work at the highest levels is if you can comfortably fight at a normal pace and range and only trade in the pocket when the opportunity is perfect. We have seen with fighters like Cody Garbrandt that just being aggressive will get you exposed quickly. Dos Santos, on the other hand, can win with his aggressiveness, outstrike opponents on the outside and beat them on the counter. A true triple threat.
Dos Santos’ counters are fairly simple, usually just throwing counter overhand rights and hooks but he is good enough to dissuade fighters from striking first.
As his nickname suggests, he comes from a capoeira background and will occasionally use it to keep opponents guessing. These unorthodox kicks aren’t going to win him a fight, but it adds to his already deep arsenal of attacks and keeps foes on their toes.
Similar to Millender, dos Santos throws a lot of knees and can land them from the outside or in the clinch. He will throw flying knees to initiate the clinch or to trap competitors against the cage where he can land more knees. I would like to see him work in the clinch more but since he isn’t a great grappler he only spends brief moments striking in the clinch in fear of being taken down.
Dos Santos is obviously a striker, but his grappling is much better than most give him credit for. He is easy to take down but his scrambling and transitional grappling allow him to get back to his feet quickly. When he does find himself on the bottom, he likes to use false submission attempts to get back to his feet, usually a heel hook or other leg locks. We have yet to see him against a grappling-based fighter, but he has held his own on the ground thus far. Most aren’t expecting this bout to hit the ground but if either martial artist feels they have the grappling advantage it wouldn’t be surprising to see one of them try to win this fight on the ground and not take any chances on the feet.
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos will walk to the Octagon for the eighth time this weekend when he takes on Curtis Millender in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 146. Zaleski has been one of the most underrated fighters in the division for years and now he finally gets a chance to break into the Top 10 with a win over the highly-touted prospect.
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Dos Santos is one of the most fearless strikers in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today but what separates him from the others is his intelligence and overall fight IQ. Although he spends a lot of time mercifully swinging punches in the pocket, he does so in a smarter way. Instead of randomly rushing forward with combos, "Capoeira" likes to wait until the opponent misses a strike and puts themselves off balance before blitzing forward with wild combos. He’s basically countering the missed opportunities with a long sequence of strikes instead of a single attack. Dos Santos also doesn't spend the entire fight trading in the pocket and will often spend entire rounds patiently striking on the outside until he feels the moment is right to push forward. Something else that makes his aggressive style better than others is his variety of attacks. He’s always mixing up his punches from head to toe and likes to add in kicks to the body and legs during these long stretches of trading in the pocket.
The only way to make this aggressive style work at the highest levels is if you can comfortably fight at a normal pace and range and only trade in the pocket when the opportunity is perfect. We have seen with fighters like Cody Garbrandt that just being aggressive will get you exposed quickly. Dos Santos, on the other hand, can win with his aggressiveness, outstrike opponents on the outside and beat them on the counter. A true triple threat.
Dos Santos’ counters are fairly simple, usually just throwing counter overhand rights and hooks but he is good enough to dissuade fighters from striking first.
As his nickname suggests, he comes from a capoeira background and will occasionally use it to keep opponents guessing. These unorthodox kicks aren’t going to win him a fight, but it adds to his already deep arsenal of attacks and keeps foes on their toes.
Similar to Millender, dos Santos throws a lot of knees and can land them from the outside or in the clinch. He will throw flying knees to initiate the clinch or to trap competitors against the cage where he can land more knees. I would like to see him work in the clinch more but since he isn’t a great grappler he only spends brief moments striking in the clinch in fear of being taken down.
Dos Santos is obviously a striker, but his grappling is much better than most give him credit for. He is easy to take down but his scrambling and transitional grappling allow him to get back to his feet quickly. When he does find himself on the bottom, he likes to use false submission attempts to get back to his feet, usually a heel hook or other leg locks. We have yet to see him against a grappling-based fighter, but he has held his own on the ground thus far. Most aren’t expecting this bout to hit the ground but if either martial artist feels they have the grappling advantage it wouldn’t be surprising to see one of them try to win this fight on the ground and not take any chances on the feet.
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