Former UFC heavyweight champ Junior Dos Santos doesn’t look at Francis Ngannou the same after he questioned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu credentials.
Ngannou’s quip that Dos Santos’ black belt is fake only served to offend the person that awarded it, Dos Santos told MMA Junkie.
“I don’t really care about what my opponents say, because sometimes they say stupid things,” Dos Santos said on Wednesday prior to his UFC on ESPN 3 headliner against Ngannou at Target Center in Minneapolis. “That was a very stupid thing, but that makes me sad, because it offended my jiu-jitsu master. He wasn’t offending me. He was offending my master.
“So that was something very weird, coming from someone who doesn’t know (expletive) about jiu-jitsu. I’m sorry about the word, but that’s the truth.”
The normally mild-mannered Dos Santos (21-5 MMA, 15-4 UFC) raised his voice as he spoke about Ngannou’s comments, which he took as an attempt to change his strategy on fight night.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Dos Santos said. “I think there’s something in the air that he doesn’t want to get punched in the face. He wants me to try and take him down, but I won’t. I’m going to knock him out.”
If Dos Santos believes Ngannou’s ground game is weak, he could easily show the slugger how good his jiu-jitsu is with a beatdown on the mat. Dos Santos doesn’t rule out a takedown – he just prefers to do his work standing.
“When was the last time you’ve seen me take someone down? I’ve fought Mark Hunt, I fought all these guys who were great strikers,” Dos Santos said. “I am the greatest at striking in the UFC, the greatest boxing guy here. I can knock anyone out, and I’m going to knock this guy out.”
Dos Santos admits Ngannou (13-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) has a little “extra knockout power” than the average UFC heavyweight, as evidenced by a quick stoppage of ex-champ Cain Velasquez. At the same time, he’s not particularly impressed by his opponent’s skills.
A title shot is the prize for Dos Santos as he looks to get a third chance to retake the belt he briefly held in 2011. He wants to fight again before the end of the year and welcomed the winner of an upcoming title bout between champ Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic at UFC 241.
Dos Santos predicts Miocic will avenge a knockout loss to Cormier in 2018.
“I think the first fight between them, Stipe was accepting the close distance, and that’s a dangerous area fighting against a guy like Cormier, because he has great wrestling skills, and he can also throw hard punches,” Dos Santos said. “So I think Stipe is more cautious about this now and is going to be more prepared. I think he’s going to win this time – a TKO in the second or third round.”
Dos Santos has split a pair of bouts with Miocic, outpointing the ex-champ in their first bout and suffering a first-round knockout in a follow-up. He said nothing will be different if he faces Miocic again. Just like every opponent, he’ll seek the same ending.
“He was able to connect with a good punch in the second fight,” Dos Santos said. “I saw the punch. But it doesn’t make him a better fighter than me. I still believe our first fight showed more about us than the second one. I’m going to keep the same type of mentality. I’m going to go there to knock him out.
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