History is written by the winner, and Junior dos Santos wants to write his name in the books.
The Brazilian knockout artist meets the UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez inside the Octagon for the third time at UFC 166, and his boxing coach believes he will need only a couple punches to take Velasquez out.
“I have no doubt that we will get closer to the knockout as soon as ‘Cigano’ lands one or two punches,” Luiz Carlos Dorea told MMAFighting.com. “Cain’s ability to take a punch is his weakness, and that’s what we will explore in this fight.”
“Cigano” needed only 64 seconds to end Velasquez’s undefeated run at UFC on FOX on Nov. 12, 2011, and Dorea is confident the fight will play out the same way next month.
“Cain is a complete fighter, deserves our respect, but ‘Cigano’ is stronger and more durable,” he said. “The best way to win this fight is work on the punches, and we know the title is coming back to Brazil.”
One year after the first bout, Dos Santos fought Velasquez for the second time and suffered his first loss in the UFC in a five-round beating from the American Kickboxing Academy product.
“Cigano” had divorced his wife before competing at UFC 155, and Dorea guarantees his protégé will be “100 percent focused” on the fight this time.
“What happened outside the cage is in the past, we’re sure he will get the win this time,” he said. “We are confident. ‘Cigano’ is a great athlete. In the first fight, ‘Cigano’ knocked him out. In the second fight, he showed he can resist punishment for five rounds. ‘Cigano’ is a well-rounded fighter, he showed he has knockout power and a great chin. We will fight against a great champion, but ‘Cigano’ has learned a lot from that loss.”