Junior dos Santos already has a victory over current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, defeating the hard-hitting bruiser back in 2014 via unanimous decision long before the American striker tasted gold.
But, as the two men gear up to run it back at UFC 211 on May 13, 2017, in Dallas, Texas, this time for Stipe’s 265-pound title, “Cigano” wants a more definitive win, telling Fox Sports he’s coming for the finish.
“Stipe Miocic is the real deal in this division,” dos Santos said. “He hits very hard, he’s got really good boxing skills, really good wrestling skills, so I know everything. But, I am the No. 1 in this division.”
After scanning over the entire 265-pound weight class and evaluating previous fights, the Brazilian bomber has no doubt in his mind he can reign supreme once again.
“After everything was happening in this division, every time I sit down and watch the fights and take a look at the whole thing, the whole scenario, I can see that I deserve to be the champion again,” said dos Santos. “If I put in good work, it’s going to happen. It’s a matter of time. There’s nowhere you can hide yourself. I’m going to find you and I’m going to beat you.”
Now more confident than ever, the former Heavyweight champion has no qualms in making a prediction come fight night. One Miocic won’t be pleased to hear.
“My prediction is this time I’m going to finish Stipe Miocic before the end of the second round,” dos Santos stated. “I have much respect for him, but I’m coming to win.”
To date, Miocic has only been stopped once in his entire mixed martial arts (MMA) career, losing to Stefan Struve via strikes five years ago. Miocic has come a long way since then, losing only once more during that span to the aforementioned “JDS.” In fact, his last five victories have come via knockout, so one way or another, it seems someone is bound to go to sleep in the headlining act of a stacked UFC 211 pay-per-view (PPV) event.