In Ciryl Gane, Junior Dos Santos sees his younger self.
Dos Santos (21-8 MMA, 15-7 UFC), who once started out his career as an undefeated prospect, will face Gane on Saturday at UFC 256, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The former UFC heavyweight champion knows Gane (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is being dubbed as the division’s next star, a position he can certainly relate to.
“He’s a different type of heavyweight,” Dos Santos told MMA Junkie. “He’s like me. He moves very well. He’s very light for his weight. He deals very well with his own size, so that’s why I’m saying it’s gonna be a very interesting fight, because this guy is dangerous. He already submitted some people showing some ground game, as well, so no doubt this fight will be very interesting for the fans, and I’m happy to be there fighting against someone that everybody is considering the next big name in the heavyweight division.”
Though Dos Santos is currently enduring the roughest stretch of his career having lost his past three in a row, he still has championship aspirations. He thinks derailing Gane’s hype train is going to prove that he has more to give and that he’s not done yet.
“I don’t underestimate my opponents,” Dos Santos said. “Especially right now, I can see a lot of potential in this guy to even become the champion one day. There’s a reason why everybody is talking about him, and that’s why it’s so important for me to go there and show a little bit more of myself as a fighter because once you start having negative results, people stop believing in you.
“I know I can avoid this type of feeling in myself, but I want people to believe me, and I want to give them a great victory on Saturday night so that they can believe in me again, and believe that I will become the champion at some point again.”
