JDS: Stipe Miocic & I Won’t Get Past The Third Round This Time

Someone is going to sleep in the main event of this weekend’s UFC 211 pay-per-view (PPV) – and both men involved know it.

UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is all set to make his second career title defense against No. 4-ranked Junior dos Santos. It will be the second time the pair have met inside the Octagon, as dos Santos took home a unanimous decision win in their first meeting back in December of 2014.

Fast-forward nearly three years later and Miocic is now atop the heavyweight division, and “JDS” comes off of a spectacular performance over Ben Rothwell. Since his win over Rothwell, “Cigano” said he knew all along he’d be challenging Miocic next (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I knew I’d fight for the belt since my win over Ben Rothwell,” dos Santos said. “It took longer than I expected, but when other athletes started to turn down fights with me, creating millions of excuses, the only option was to fight the one who didn’t hide and accepted the fight, the champion Stipe Miocic.”

Dos Santos claimed that his fellow top heavyweights have been picking their fights, opening up the door for him to get the next crack at Miocic’s title. In the end, the Brazilian believes the right decision was made given the fact he holds a win over the current title-holder:

“Actually, I think that the fact that I always stepped up to fight anyone has been an issue for me, because, as we can see, other (fighters) are strategical and clearly pick fights,” dos Santos said. “In my opinion, the right move has been made. I not only beat the current champion, but I’m also coming off a win over the guy that was coming up in the division before he faced me, and I had a big win with a great performance, unlike other alleged title contenders.”

Although he took home a unanimous decision win over Miocic back in 2014, dos Santos admits that it was a tough fight en-route to his victory over the Croatian. It was an epic slugfest between the two brawlers the first time around, but they were able to stay standing and go the distance.

This time, however, “JDS” doesn’t expect this fight to go past the fifteen minute mark:

“I don’t think we will go past the third round this time,” said dos Santos. “I can guarantee you it won’t be a knockdown like in the first fight, it will be a knockout now.”

“I believe [Miocic] has really evolved, but he can’t use his recent knockouts as a parameter,” dos Santos continued. “I’m different. I’m as strong as him, and I’m the fastest heavyweight in history. Whatever his strategy is, I will win.

“Everybody knows I’m more confident standing, that I have my boxing as my background and that I go for the knockout the entire time. There’s nothing new. If he decides to stand and trade with me, he will go down — and this time he won’t get back up again.”