Junior dos Santos’ power is nothing to play with.
The heavy-handed Brazilian is one of the most feared knockout artists in the UFC’s heavyweight division, and his ability to level his competition is what carried him through the divisional rankings up to wearing championship gold. In fact, his title fight with Cain Velasquez back at UFC on Fox 1 in 2011 was perhaps the best display of Cigano’s most prominent attribute, as all it took was one clean shot from dos Santos to derail the title run of the American Kickboxing Academy staple.
Prior to defeating Velasquez that night in Anaheim, California, six of his eight showings inside the Octagon resulted in JDS stopping his opponent in abrupt fashion. While Velasquez avenged the sole loss of his career by defeating dos Santos in two bouts that were near mirror images of one another, dos Santos was still able to knock out two more opponents in between those losses. He clobbered former two-time champion Frank Mir and recent interim title challenger Mark Hunt.
Yet, while dos Santos’ talent for putting grown men to sleep is certainly one he covets, what the 30-year-old slugger wants more than anything is to become champion once again. But with his two losses to Velasquez occurring in a 10-month span, the former titleholder understands it is going to take some work before he’s back in title contention.
Nevertheless, until that moment arrives and he’s once again tapped to compete for championship gold, dos Santos has no problem facing whoever the UFC puts inside the Octagon with him. His next opportunity comes against surging prospect-turned-contender Stipe Miocic in the main event for UFC on Fox 13 in Phoenix on Dec. 13.
“Everything in my mind is happy because I am going to be competing again,” dos Santos told Bleacher Report. “After a very tough year for me, I’m going to be competing again. Thank God for that because that’s what I love to do, and that is what I’m doing for my livelihood. I couldn’t be happier.
“I’m going to tell you the truth, that I had a hard time staying positive sometimes. It was a tough year for me, and there were some moments where I was very sad. But right now, I’m really happy and motivated. I had a great camp, and I’m going to go in there and get a big victory. I really believe this with my heart, and that is what I’m going to do.
“The whole world is going to be following, and there are going to be a lot of people cheering for me. That makes me more motivated because I want to show them and prove to them that I’m still Junior dos Santos. I want to prove to them I still have my knockout power and I’m a more complete fighter than I was before. Wherever this fight happens, I’m going to be able to shut him down.”
While it has been more than a year since dos Santos was turned back in his quest to reclaim the heavyweight strap, the brick-handed Brazilian understands there is no more room for failure. If he intends to keep his title hopes alive, he has to get back into the win column and hold his place as a perennial title threat. Where those circumstances undoubtedly add weight upon a fighter’s shoulders, the pressure surrounding dos Santos’ situation has missed him entirely, which becomes obvious by the upbeat tone in his voice when he discusses his next fight.
The only focus on his upcoming tilt with Miocic is to leave the Cleveland native lying on the canvas and staring up at the arena lights—a feat he’s beyond confident he will accomplish on Dec. 13.
“I’ve been watching a lot of Miocic‘s fights and the entire time, he tries to use his boxing skills,” dos Santos said. “He has really good boxing, and I really believe he’s going to try to stand up with me. That’s bad news for him because if he decides to stand up with me, I’m going to knock him out. I’m very confident in my boxing, and I can knock out anyone in the world.
“But I really think once he starts to feel the power of my hands, he’s going to try to use his wrestling and take me down. If he does take me down, I’m going to show everyone how much my game has improved, and I’m going to try to submit him. Maybe he will be the first fighter submitted by Junior dos Santos in the UFC. Miocic has a good wrestling background, and I really believe his second strategy in this fight is to try to take me down. If he does that, I’m going to submit him.
“This is a very important moment in my career, but I’m not nervous. I’m happy,” he added. “I’m excited and happy, and that is going to lead to a great performance and allow me to win the fight. Everything I want and I’m thinking about right now is to come back healthy and put on a great fight. I want to get back to winning again. I have a very tough opponent in front of me, and Miocic is coming off some good victories. I know how tough he is, but I’m very confident. I’m going to win this fight, and I’m going to knock him out.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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