UFC fights fans will be treated to a heavyweight showdown this weekend as former UFC Champion Junior Dos Santos takes on number 4 ranked Heavyweight Stipe Miocic.
The fight will headline UFC on Fox 13 and will mark the return to the octagon for JDS who has been out of action since losing to Cain Velasquez back in October 2013. For Miocic the fight will mark his third fight in 2014 and also look to extend his three fight win streak which includes wins over Roy Nelson, Gabriel Gonzaga and Fabio Maldonado.
This fight was pitted to take place at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 finale, however, an injury took JDS off the card and left Miocic dealing with last minute replacement Fabio Maldonado. Miocic took apart Maldonado in just 35 seconds and is now gunning full steam ahead towards Saturday night.
So ahead of this important Heavyweight fight I wanted to break down some of the aspects of the fight and give my prediction as to how this one will play out.
Striking – Favours JDS
I would be very surprised if this fight didn’t take place on the feet for the majority. Both of these guys enjoy striking and I would be very shocked if either man looked to take this fight to the ground.
Should the fight take place on the feet then you have to edge towards JDS to have the advantage. Up until the mauling he suffered from Velasquez, JDS was feared for his excellent technical boxing and latterly in the fight with Mark Hunt was able to display an array of strikes not just using his hands.
Miocic is definitely not to be overlooked in the striking, holding eight TKO/KO victories himself but not against the same level of competition as JDS. JDS has only been stopped once due to strikes and that was against Cain.
Wrestling – Advantage Miocic
JDS is not known to posse a great grappling game and I would be extremely shocked if he came out in this one shooting for a double. JDS does however have a good solid wrestling defence but I have a feeling that if he wants to then Miocic will be able to take him down.
Miocic is a solid wrestler and was able to showcase his wrestling skills in particular against Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve. It was really his ability to grapple with Nelson which shone for me and showed us a side to him which we haven’t particularly noticed in the past.
For me Miocic’s best chance at winning this fight lies with his grappling and if he can hold JDS up against the cage, like Cain did and rough him up in the clinch then this fight is his for the taking.
Group Game – JDS gets the nod
It’s hard to comment on Miocic’s submission game as we have rarely seen him on the mat and if he has been he has been in top control following a takedown. So will be interesting to see if he is put on his back just how he deals with it.
And for that reason I have to give the submission/ground game to JDS. JDS has spent most of his career with the Nogueira brothers and has recently switched camps to Nova Uniao so will undoubtedly have learnt a great deal of submission work. Again similar to Miocic we haven’t seen much of JDS’s submission game but I suspect if this one does go down to the ground JDS will be the more dangerous.
Overall – JDS to win
In summary I just think that JDS will be too much to handle for Miocic and a step up too far for the number four ranked fighter.
The main thing I am looking forward to is how JDS approaches this fight given his new fight camp with Nova Uniao. I think we will see a more diverse striking attack from the former champion and there will probably be a focus on kicks which the Uniao guys are so good at.
Miocic certainly stands a chance but for me not a punchers chance, but a grapplers one. If he is able to impose his will and get in the face of JDS and pressure him into the cage and work on wearing him down then he may stand a chance. JDS gasses as the fight goes into the championship round if his opponent is putting constant pressure on him, and this is something which Miocic needs to expose.
For me though I think the striking of JDS will be too much for Miocic and he will stop him within three rounds.
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