Hailing from MMA hotbed Brazil, Junior Dos Santos has been on an absolute roll in the heavyweight division over the past three years, putting together the best resume of victories and performances of any young fighter in the world.
Ever since he blitzed Fedor Emelianenko's eventual nemesis Fabricio Werdum in his UFC debut, Dos Santos has dominated his opponents, quickly defeating credible opponents Stefan Struve, Gilbert Yvel and Gabriel Gonzaga. During his march up the heavyweight ranks, the only fighter able to get out of the first round with him was Mirko Cro Cop, and he eventually crumbled, submitting due to strikes in the third round.
Dos Santos has impressed with his boxing, showing the best mixture of technique and power in the heavyweight division, and his striking-focused style provides a welcome change of pace in a division dominated by former NCAA wrestling standouts.
At UFC 117, Dos Santos was booked in a final eliminator for the heavyweight title against "The Ultimate Fighter 10" winner and former IFL champion Roy Nelson. While he would easily dispatch his opponent, he'd be denied an immediate shot at the heavyweight title due to the shoulder injury suffered by champion Cain Velasquez. Instead, he'd put his title shot on the line at UFC 131 against Shane Carwin after his original opponent, fellow "TUF 13" coach and former heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar, withdrew due to another bout of diverticulitis.
Although both fights were one-sided in Dos Santos' favor, the resilience of Nelson and Carwin posed a new challenge for him. His boxing was as crisp as always, but in both fights, no matter how much he connected he just couldn't get the KO. Dos Santos responded well, trying to vary his offense by adding kicks and knees into his striking, and shooting for the odd takedown. He paced himself well, fighting the second and third rounds at a more manageable pace after frenetically trying to finish when he thought he had both opponents in trouble in the first round.
As each fight progressed, both Nelson and Carwin landed the odd big shot, but Dos Santos was more than able to shake off the punches. Above all, he showed tremendous takedown defense, with neither fighter able to get him to the ground despite numerous attempts. Dos Santos even shocked Carwin by getting him to the ground toward the end of their fight.
While some have expressed disappointment at Dos Santos' inability to finish his last two fights, Nelson is a notoriously durable fighter and many referees would have stopped the fight against Carwin. However, more importantly, the two fights demonstrated that even when he's taken the distance, Dos Santos remains a focused, dangerous fighter.
Throughout a UFC career that has seen him go 7-0 (13-1 overall in MMA), Dos Santos has shown the ability to impose himself on his opponents through the application of a punishing boxing game. More than that, he's shown the stamina to go the distance, the intelligence to vary his strategy in response to what's happening in the fight and a seemingly robust level of takedown defense.
On Nov. 12, Dos Santos will get the shot at the world heavyweight title he earned over 16 months earlier. Judging by the number of quick knockouts on his record and how close his last two fights came to finishing early, you can rest assured Dos Santos is going to be in a rush to make up for lost time against Velasquez on FOX.
