Junior Dos Santos Wants to Fight – What Are His Options?
After an exciting UFC 121 event, Cain Velasquez became the 1st Mexican Heavyweight Champion in the UFC dethroning Brock Lesnar in the 1st Round by TKO. Next in line of the title shot was none other than Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos. Cigano has worked hard to get his shot at the UFC gold since his Upset KO of Fabricio Werdum in his UFC Debut, all the way to his most recent victory over TUF 10 Winner Roy “Big Country” Nelson. All this lead up to his matchup for the title against Velasquez.
However, recently, the hopes of this highly promising, entertaining, and hyped up matchup was denied. Many MMA Fans around the world were disappointed to hear that Undefeated (9-0) UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez reported to have a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder, thus likely putting him out of commission for 6-8 months. Their bout was rumoured to be headlined at UFC 129 in Toronto’s Rogers Centre but due to the circumstance of the Champ’s injury, it seems as though this fight has gone down the drain…for now. So now what? An interim belt? Wait another 6-8 months for the title? Well, one thing is for sure…
“Junior Dos Santos Does NOT Want to Wait”
Interim Anyone?
Therefore, we can deduce that this Brazillian machine wants someone else to fight until the champ can heal and return 100%. But which how many heavyweight options do we have?
Here they are:
Frank Mir
“This fight seems to make a lot of sense” is the opinion of many MMA fans as of lately. Junior Dos Santos wants a fight, Frank Mir can give him one. These two are both coming off a win and have both defeated the Croation Legend Mirko Cro Cop. It would be an interesting matchup with Mir’s submission skills and Junior Dos Santos’ Heavy Hands. But as of late, Mir hasn’t had much luck with heavy hitters.
Brock Lesnar
As we recently found out, Brock Lesnar has a phobia for getting punched. Therefore, this matchup may not be the best one. However, it’d make for a great business opportunity for the UFC with Lesnar back in the game. Also, if Lesnar came in getting over his problem with striking, his 1st Division NCAA Wrestling may be a problem for the #1 Contender. But I doubt it.
Cheick Kongo
If all the others on this list fail to be an option for Dos Santos, this is probably a last resort as Kongo would not probably last long against the hard hitting brazillian. It would be insignificant but Junior Dos Santos wants a fight and who better than this UFC Heavyweight Gatekeeper.
Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira
These two are friends, training partners, both from Team Blackhouse. Junior Dos Santos has stated that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is his hero. It is unlikely they’d want to fight each other but like some MMA Fighters, they may decide to put their job infront of their friendship. This would be an interesting match again if it did happen. Minotauro may be able to take it to the ground and we may even be able to see some of Dos Santos’ ground game. But then again, I wouldn’t want to risk another Rodrigo Nogueira Knockout…
Shane Carwin
Out of all Options on this list, this one is my favourite, and one that I think will be the best decision by the UFC. Junior Dos Santos vs Shane Carwin has “WAR” and “WONT GET OUT OF THE 1st ROUND” written all over it. All 11 of Shane Carwin’s Wins have been by KO or TKO while Junior Dos Santos has also finished his share of fighters including Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Mirko Cro Cop, & More…This is one fight I know all MMA Fans would like to see. However, the problem is that Shane Carwin is coming off a loss against Former UFC HW Champ Brock Lesnar.
Now YOU Decide…
