Dos Santos on Carwin: “He’s very dangerous, but I’ll bet on my speed”

Dos Santos on Carwin: “He’s very dangerous, but I’ll bet on my speed”


By Guilherme Cruz

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Junior “Cigano” dos Santos debuted in UFC with a knockout over Fabricio Werdum, and then beat up names like Gabriel Napao and Mirko Cro Cop to figure the top contenders to the division title. And even with a second replacement of his opponent in UFC 131, out Brock Lesnar and in Shane Carwin, nothing can take the Brazilian fighter’s focus away.



“He’s very dangerous, but I’ll bet on my speed. I’m sure I’ll put on a great show up there”, said the friendly fighter, claiming to be ready to go, and wishing for a quick recovery of Lesnar. “Unfortunately he had that disease again, it must be pretty serious, and I wish him all the luck he can have. For what I could know about him, he’s a nice guy”.



Check below the exclusive chat with the tough guy, who talked about the growth of MMA in Brazil, Strikeforce’s purchase by UFC and the bouts of the heavyweight GP of Strikeforce, the statements of Werdum, who said that he dreams about a merger of the titles and a possible fight against Cigano in the future, and guaranteed: “I know I’ll become a UFC champion”.



Your opponent has been replaced again. How do you deal with this in your mind?



I’m much focused. I’ve been training hard for two months now, there’s almost a month left before the bout, and I’m doing just fine. I’m on a great patch in my life, thanks’ God, I’m feeling fine and I want to fight. I don’t fight for a long time. Last time I fought it was August of 2010, and I’m fine. I’m just not fighting because of the problems my opponents are facing. Of course it brings us some problems, but I believe that God makes things happens on their own time, and now I’ll be ready to go for this one and, God help me, I’ll win.



You’ve said before that you fight anyone they tell you to, but they keep changing your opponent… Before you’d fight for the belt, then came Lesnar and now Carwin…



Honestly, I’m happy that they didn’t chance the date that I’ll fight in, that they didn’t postpone it. The bout will still happen on the 11th. They’ve changed my opponent, but I’m still fighting. I’m a fighter, I need to fight, I live for fighting, I need it to be in shape. It’s not nice. I was preparing myself to fight Velasquez, and he got injured. Now Brock Lesnar is sick too, so… I’m not upset, I’m believing in myself a lot, and I’m sure I’ll put on a great show up there.



Lesnar said he started to feel pains while you were shooting TUF. Did you notice anything?



No. I didn’t really got to see him that often, I met him few times, we chatted a bit, but we’ve never talked about it. Unfortunately he had that disease again, it must be pretty serious, and I wish him all the luck he can have. For what I could know about him, he’s a nice and cool guy, and people like him.



And that pose he displays? Is it just about looks or is he like that on daily basis?



He’s a very professional guy, take things seriously, but he was kind to me. The few times we met, it was nice. We talked about the fighters, the bouts, and all that stuff… And it was pretty nice, so I wish he gets better soon.



Shane Carwin went through a hard time while facing Napao, beat the hell out of Lesnar, but he ran out of gas… What do you think of him as an opponent? What danger can he bring you?



He’s very dangerous and, as Lesnar, he’s almost 120kg, they’re the heaviest guys, so they are pretty strong, it may be a problem. But I believe in myself. I train a lot… He’s much dangerous, has super heavy hands, good Boxing skills, but I’ll bet on my speed and my Boxing. I go for the knockout every time I fight, and it won’t be any different this time. I’ll go for the knockout again. I was training to fight Brock Lesnar, much takedown defense and offensive takedowns too, and my Jiu-Jitsu. So, I’m feeling fine. I may surprise you all on this bout, maybe with a submission, or something like that. I’m feeling fine, and that’s what matters most.



The trainings and the game plan won’t be changed?



The trainings will be the same I was already doing, but surely the game plan changes a bit. Against Brock Lesnar I could let myself go more while striking, I could use it in my favor more than I can do with Shane Carwin, because I’ll have to be careful on that matter. I know God wants it, and I’ll get this win.



How do you see UFC growth in Brazil and you coaching its reality show? Is it all coming on a good time for you?



I’m really blessed (laughs). Everybody know that I’ve started few years ago, I’ve been fighting for six years, and thanks’ God things are happening when they were supposed to happen for me, and I’m sure it was just another bless from God in my life, and I’ll get there and do my best so that things continually to go the way they are. As for things in Brazil, it’s all happiness. The sport is growing, people are getting more involved with the sport and we’re being recognized. It’s very rewarding and I’m feeling awesome. Just today I already have like 30 thousand followers in Twitter, and I’m really happy. If you want to follow me up there it’s @junior_cigano.



UFC is getting so big it bought Strikeforce, its biggest rival. What do you think of this heavyweight GP and maybe a merger of the divisions in the future?



I guess Strikeforce’s GP is good. I see Strikeforce’s purchase by UFC as a good thing, especially for the heavyweight division. All the best heavyweight fighters in the world will be gathered in UFC. Things will get crazy, and that’s an extra motivational factor for me. I guess the best will be revealed pretty soon. In my opinion, Cain Velasquez is the best, and it’s him that I’m seeking to meet. I want to fight him. I’ll try to win this bout and be qualified to fight against him, as I had been. I hope he’s doing fine, I hope he’s training and that we can fight for the belt soon.



Werdum said he dreams about winning this GP and fighting you in UFC. What are your thought about that?



I wish him luck. I hope he wins this GP, so that the belt comes to Brazil. He did an excellent bout with Fedor, but now I’m not worrying about him. My goal is to be a UFC champion. I’ll get it, I believe it, and if he’s a contender to UFC’s title, surely we’ll have a rematch, but more on that later.