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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Junior dos Santos will take his first step towards regaining the UFC Heavyweight Championship on Saturday night at UFC 160, taking on Mark Hunt in his first appearance since losing to Cain Velasquez in December. As the fight approaches, dos Santos is focused on Hunt, but is driven by the desire to recapture that title.
"It has already given me more motivation," dos Santos said about the loss to Velasquez in an interview with UFC.com. “I really want my belt back, and I am doing everything I can to make that happen. Having the belt means everything to me. My life now is all about becoming champion again.”
"There is no pressure [with a title shot on the line]. That's exactly what I want. I want my title back. [Hunt] is a very dangerous guy and I need to give this fight all of my attention to make sure I win. I really appreciate that Mark Hunt accepted this fight because I wanted to stay on the card at UFC 160. I am eager to get back in the cage, to get back to fighting. I was not myself last fight. I want to be back in that Octagon and back to winning."
Dos Santos respects the power and skill Hunt brings to the cage, but believes he's got more intangibles and physical gifts into the fight. Regardless, he's ready to show Hunt and UFC fans everywhere that he can rebound from adversity, and get himself back on the path to another fight with Velasquez.
"I don't know if I think [a loss is] necessary, but I know that when it happens, you learn a lot,” dos Santos said. “You learn more from defeat than from victory. I know in my case, I'm coming back stronger and better than ever.
"Fans are going to see a lot of determination, precision, and they will see my hand raised again. I will hold that belt again before the year is over."
Penick's Analysis: Dos Santos has no reason to believe he'll lose this fight. He's defeated a wide swath of opponents during his time in the organization, and it took five rounds of Velasquez grinding him down and beating him up for him to suffer his first ever loss in the UFC. Hunt is not the same type of fighter. Though he's got a lot of power - and dos Santos was hurt badly by Velasquez - Hunt is not going to have the threat of the takedown working in his favor either. This is a big spot for JDS, and if he pulls it off, he might be right back into a fight with Velasquez.
[Junior dos Santos art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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