UFC 131 Fight Card Preview: Shane Carwin Vs Junior dos Santos

Shane Carwin vs. Junior dos Santos

Taking nothing away from Brock Lesnar, this is a much better fight in my opinion because both of these men are likely to be relevant in MMA in two years. A lot of people are citing Carwin's lengthy layoff after his fight with Lesnar last summer, but dos Santos' isn't much better. Both have been out about a year, so it's going to be interesting to see who did what with the time off. We've heard about a slimmed down Carwin, but what effect that has on his performance is yet to be seen.

I think we're going to see this fight played out against the cage. If Carwin can grind JDS into the fence and land quick but powerful shots like he did to Frank Mir he could end the fight within the first two rounds. JDS needs to maintain a consistent distancing in order to be successful. He needs to utilize his speed and wear Carwin down, pulling him into the third round. Only Lesnar has been able to drag Carwin past the first, but I think dos Santos can manage it.