Junior Dos Santos breaks down Velasquez vs Lesnar
As the man in line to fight the winner of Cain Velasquez and Brock Lesnar, Junior Dos Santos can be expected to have a pretty big interest in each fighter. The heavyweight mixed martial artist is next in line for a shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championships’ heavyweight title after the current champ Lesnar and challenger Velasquez duke it out at UFC 121, and he gave his opinion of the fight, writing on the Brazilian site Blog Sensei.
"In my opinion, If it ends in the first round Lesnar takes it, if it ends after the first round I think Cain takes it. Brock is that big heavyweight, very dangerous, if he’s on top it’s very hard for you to escape,” wrote Dos Santos.
JDS is simply iterating what many pundits have pointed to: Velasquez’s perceived cardio advantage. Though Lesnar has never been seriously hampered by fatigue, Velasquez is known as a cardio machine, a rare heavyweight that can push the pace for as long as he needs to. Meanwhile Lesnar weighs around 280lb on fight night (Velasquez is around 240), and his muscle-bound frame requires a lot of oxygen to the muscles to keep going.
JDS is arguing that Lesnar’s crushing strength and brute wrestling ability could overwhelm Velasquez early, but that ultimately Velasquez could come back and gain strength as the fight goes on. Ironically it was Lesnar who was overwhelmed in his last fight against Shane Carwin, getting crushed in the first round before rallying to choke out his tired opponent in round two.
“As for Cain Velasquez, I think he’s the best conditioned heavyweight out there, his cardio is very good. He’s very technical too, has excellent wrestling, has shown great abilities in striking as well, he kicks well, punches well. We haven’t seem much from his ground game, but I think he’s more technical from other heavyweights, fast and a very good gas tank,” said JDS.
With his well-spoken, educated and respectful tone, the 25-year-old Brazilian is rapidly growing his fan base and positioning himself as a very marketable future star. Also, his English improves every day, meaning having JDS as a champion might be a position the UFC is happy to be in. He possesses some of the best stand-up in the division, and his fists are heavy enough to have scored highlight reel stoppage wins over Stefan Struve, Fabricio Werdum and Gabriel Gonzaga, among others.
Heavy hands are something though JDS clearly thinks he’ll have to deal with against Lesnar too, which Lesnar displayed against Heath Herring, Frank Mir and Randy Couture.
“He’s very strong and very heavy and has good wrestling as well. He’s got heavy hands, it would be a very tough fight for me for sure, he’s a very dangerous guy. The strategy would be similar to mine against Roy Nelson, not to land on my back, because it’s not a good thing to be underneath a guy that weighs around 130 kilos,” wrote JDS.
JDS’s style, as he alluded, is to use his brilliant stand-up and resist the takedown attempts of his opponents. That’s easier said than done, as both Velasquez and Lesnar have better wrestling than anyone Dos Santos has ever fought. But so far, he’s been very successful in his strategy, and the UFC heavyweight division is littered with his victims.
“So they are a bit different, but basically it’s strength against speed,” he concluded.
Either way, whether it’s strength or speed that prevails at UFC 121, it’ll come up against a very stiff and willing test in JDS. And if his analysis is any indication, the Brazilian will know exactly what’s coming at him.
Clay Guida hints at possible Takanori Gomi fight
Ultimate Fighting Championships lightweight Clay Guida has hinted he’ll be the next opponent to fight legendary mixed martial artist Takanori Gomi.
Guida wrote three messages on Twitter pointing to the fight.
“Looking forward to my next fight...It's a big one!!” he first wrote, but quite a few opponents could fit that billing.
“Guess who I am fighting next!!!????” Guida wrote, clearly excited on 6 September. Finally Thursday afternoon he gave a much clearer hint.
“My upcoming opponent has ALOT of power in his hands. It's ok.....The Dude (me) will be ready,” wrote Guida.
Nobody fits that billing better than Gomi. Once considered the best lightweight in the world while he was fighting for the now-defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships, Gomi has slipped in recent years with a few disappointing losses along the way. He finally signed with the UFC and made a lacklustre debut in March, losing a decision to Kenny Florian. In August though he proved to everyone he still had his legendary power, delivering a crushing knockout blow to Tyson Griffin, which saw Griffin falling face first to the canvas, unconscious.
After that victory Gomi’s future had been the subject of much speculation. With his legendary status it was possible the UFC would rush him into a title shot, but they appear to be taking a slower route, although Guida is no slouch. He is known for his wild brawling stand-up and powerful, grinding wrestling. He is an impressive 5-2 in his last seven fights, with his only two losses coming to divisional elites Florian and Diego Sanchez.
It’s possible Guida is referring to someone else than Gomi, but it seems unlikely. Few others have the kind of reputation Gomi does with his heavy hands, and it’s known the UFC was looking for a match up with Gomi.
Tags: