Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos is excited by the challenge of facing Curtis Blaydes — even if he isn’t a fan of his opponent’s style.
Dos Santos and Blaydes are set to collide in the main event of UFC Raleigh this weekend. For the Brazilian, it’s a chance at returning to the win column after suffering a TKO defeat to Francis Ngannou last summer.
A win would also put “JDS” right back into the title mix given Blaydes’ No. 3 ranking. Another source of motivation is Blaydes’ wrestling game which has helped him defeat just about every opponent other than Ngannou.
Dos Santos personally believes it’s boring, but it makes him all the more motivated to overcome that challenge:
“When they offered me Curtis Blaydes, I didn’t realize he was third in the rankings,” he said in a recent interview (via UFC). “I didn’t even think that he hasn’t lost to anyone besides Francis Ngannou.
“I know he’s a tough fighter and he has a very boring game, the kind of game that I hate, but it makes the challenge even more exciting for me. It makes me more excited to go out there and knock him out or even submit him. Maybe it’s a good opportunity for me to go there and use my jiu-jitsu.”
It may surprise some, but Dos Santos is a black belt in jiu-jitsu, so he’s more than capable of threatening Blaydes should he be taken down. However, don’t expect the former champion to proactively look to take the fight to the ground:
“If you want me to go there and take someone down, to use my jiu-jitsu, I will never do that; someone needs to put me down,” he added. “If you allow me to go the way I want, I’ll stay on my feet, banging.
“I train very hard in all aspects of fighting and the coaches are always on top of us. I don’t think I can’t do that — I can wrestle, I can do jiu-jitsu, I can kick; I can do it all, but I’m a boxing guy and I love to knock people out, so I’ll always be looking for that knockout.”
Do you think “JDS” can overcome the wrestling of Blaydes this weekend?
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