UFC 146: Junior Dos Santos Is Confident He Will Knock out Alistair Overeem

Junior dos Santos will make his first title defense against Alistair Overeem, which is tentatively scheduled for UFC 146 on May 26th.

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta made the official announcement earlier today on his Twitter page.

The Brazilian has emerged as the top heavyweight fighter since beating former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX 1 in November of last year. Claiming victories over fighters like Velasquez, Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson, dos Santos is no stranger to formidable opposition.

In Overeem, the Brazilian faces another stiff challenge against a world-class striker with imposing size and strength. At 255 pounds, Overeem is considered to be one of the best fighters in the heavyweight division. Overeem earned his chance to face dos Santos after making short work of Brock Lesnar in his UFC debut at UFC 141. 

But when analyzing the Dutchman's skills, dos Santos still envisions himself as the better fighter overall.

"I see him as a good challenge," dos Santos told TATAME.com. "He’s very dangerous, but I gotta use my speed. I really believe in me, I’m always confident about my attitudes. I really believe I can beat him."

Holding knockout power in both hands, "Cigano" has recorded 10 of his 14 career victories by KO/TKO, and has finished the last six of his eight previous opponents. As he anticipates his first defense, dos Santos intends on retaining the UFC heavyweight crown and leaving Overeem on the canvas.

"It won’t be different this time, I’m going there to knock him out," he said.