Heavyweight Hierarchy: Where Do JDS and Overeem Go With A Win?

Barring an unforeseen injury just days before competition, it looks like we’re finally going to get Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem.

Their long-awaited heavyweight clash will take place this Saturday at UFC on FOX 17. As two of the very best in the weight class, this weekend’s matchup will be detrimental to the divisional title picture heading into 2016.

With excellent striking, knockout power, and a vat of boiling blood to call their own, JDS and Overeem could produce one of the best heavyweight bouts of 2015.

Find out here where either man can go heading into the new year with a victory at UFC on FOX 17.

Understanding the heavyweight division

In order to diagnose Dos Santos and Overeem’s worth heading into 2016, we must first understand their immediate surroundings.

As easily one of the shallowest divisions in all of mixed martial arts (MMA), the heavyweight roster is desperately in need of perennial title contenders. While JDS and Overeem are skilled enough to become just that, they have both experienced significant defeat in years past that has hampered their ongoing championship aspirations.

That said, following former champion Cain Velasquez’s loss to current titleholder Fabricio Werdum back at UFC 188, a variety of avenues have opened for some of the division’s best fighters. Dos Santos, having lost to Velasquez twice in the past three years, has benefited the most from the champ’s recent downfall.

While Werdum is set to defend his title opposite the former champ in a rematch at UFC 196 in February, the sense of invincibility previously owned by Velasquez has already been tainted. Not to mention both JDS and Overeem have already defeated Werdum at one point in their careers.

The road ahead for JDS

There’s no arguing that Dos Santos is one of the biggest Brazilian stars in the sport today.

His titanic power, crisp boxing, and dominant pressure has even collected the favoritism of fans across the world. In other words, he’s the quintessential overpowering heavyweight everyone wants to see.

As a fighter who has only lost to Cain Velasquez throughout his promotional career (11-2 UFC record), JDS commands a lot of prestige in a division eager to welcome him back to title contention. Victories over Stipe Miocic, Mark Hunt, Frank Mir, and the aforementioned Velasquez stand out among the rest.

But what many people tend to forget is that “Cigano” recorded one of the best knockouts in UFC heavyweight history when he finished Werdum back at UFC 90 in just 80 seconds. The current champion is leaps and bounds a better striker than he was back in 2008, but that doesn’t discredit JDS’s perfectly-timed uppercut that left Werdum’s ears wiggling.

That victory, along with a win over Overeem this weekend at UFC on FOX 17, will really be all the 31-year-old needs to lock down a title shot in 2016. Obviously things will get tricky if Velasquez defeats Werdum in February and reclaims his belt, but a Werdum defense will all but set up a rematch with JDS.

If the Brazilian’s performance this weekend doesn’t warrant a shot at either Werdum or Velasquez, then he could find himself fending off Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett, Ben Rothwell or Miocic in a rematch (depending on which of those fighters can win their next bout).

The road ahead for Overeem

It looks like Overeem’s early struggles in the UFC, which included back-to-back knockout defeats to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Travis Browne, are a set of forgotten hiccups.

The reasoning behind the veteran’s insufficient performances in the past stemmed from over exerting himself or not respecting his opponent’s ability, which was never more relevant than his loss to Silva.

These days, following a move to Team Jackson-Winkeljohn in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Overeem is a much more patient and calculated fighter. His striking has evolved to an entirely different level, which has allowed him to pinpoint his shots, avoid damage, and pick apart some of the most dangerous names in the division while respecting their strengths.

While Dos Santos is a more formidable test than Roy Nelson or Stefan Struve, Overeem’s new found technique should apply well to the Brazilian’s somewhat overzealous offensive approach. The Dutchman’s kicks and knees should be there to land when JDS overextends on a looping overhand.

If Overeem is able to defeat JDS at UFC on FOX 17, his stock entering 2016 will be at an all time high. But with a recent loss to Ben Rothwell back at UFC Fight Night 50 looming overhead, “The Reem” may have to defeat one more top heavyweight before he locks down a shot at the title.

In any case, he’s easily one of the most popular fighters in the sport on an international level, and a guy the UFC has been dying to throw into a championship bout. He’ll have to become the only other fighter besides Cain Velasquez to defeat JDS inside of the Octagon in order to stand out above the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Andrei Arlovski.