It is no secret heavyweight contender Junior Dos Santos packs a devastatingly powerful punch. He has risen rapidly in the UFC, and on his current streak, he has battered the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Gilbert Yvel and Gabriel Gonzaga.
Dos Santos learns and trains his MMA striking under the tutelage of such established notables as Rodrigo Nogueira, Rogerio Nogueira and Anderson Silva, whose credentials on the feet are well-established.
Dos Santos is the main attraction in his fight with Shane Carwin at UFC 131 in Vancouver. When the original card was made, I was extremely interested in seeing the headline fight. Brock Lesnar would have tested all aspects of Cigano’s game. With him out and Carwin in though, the question remains, will we finally see Junior Dos Santos’ ground game?
I doubt it, and I hope not.
I want to see Dos Santos and Carwin throw, and may the best chin win.
Lesnar would have tried to take Cigano down, and I believe he would have been successful. We would have also seen Junior have to fight off his back for the first time in a big fight—very intriguing.
I highly doubt Carwin will attempt any takedowns right out of the shoot on June 11, but if he starts to get the worst of the stand-up with Junior, he will go to his roots to try to muscle and bully Dos Santos for his blueprint to victory.
I don’t believe it will get there. I think the gauntlet has been set with JDS predicting a knockout, and Carwin will be all too happy to oblige in letting him try.
Just like with his striking, Dos Santos trains his ground game with the Nogueira’s and “The Spider,” but we may have to wait again to get a glimpse of his black belt skill.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Correspondent for Bleacher Report MMA (Also a Correspondent for MMACanada.net).
Catch him on Twitter @wakafighter
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