UFC 103 Spotlight: Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic Vs. Junior Dos Santos

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic was widely considered one of the most devastating strikers in MMA. His career has been a highlight reel of knockouts against the likes of Mark Coleman, Aleksander Emilianenko, and Wanderlei Silva.

He even took the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA, Fedor Emilianenko, to a decision.

He came to the UFC with a ton of hype touting him as the potential future heavyweight champion.

And then he was knocked out by a right head kick from Gabriel Gonzaga.

After the stunning loss to Gonzaga, Cro Cop lost a unanimous decision to Cheick Congo before the UFC for Dream.

While with Dream, Cro Cop won twice and tallied a no-contest in three fights. After his third fight, a victory over the giant Hong Man Choi, Cro Cop underwent a procedure to repair a knee injury.

Upon recovering from his surgery, Cro Cop returned to the Octagon for a one-fight engagement against Mostapha Al-turk at UFC 99: The Comeback.

After a controversial—yet unseen by the referee—eye-poke from Cro Cop to Al-turk, Cro Cop scored a first round TKO victory. After the victory, he was reportedly headed back to Dream for a new deal and a new future.

In a surprise move, Cro Cop announced he would be returning to the UFC after getting an offer he could not refuse. It was reported that UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta flew to Cro Cop's home in Zagreb and offered the Croatian a three-fight deal with the UFC.

With his next three fights taking place in the octagon, Cro Cop will have to prove himself once again against the best the UFC has to offer in the Heavyweight division.

His first test upon re-entering the Octagon is against young up-and-comer Junior dos Santos.

Junior dos Santos' rise through the ranks is a short story, but only because he is just 25 years of age.

After just two fights in the UFC, dos Santos has already made a name for himself as a force to be reckoned with. He has had nine professional fights and lost only one, but the real kicker is that none of his fights has gone to a decision.

And none of his fights have ever gone past the first round. The average length of his two fights in the UFC is just over a minute.

A boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, dos Santos has already beaten UFC veterans Steven Struve and Fabricio Werdum. He is going into the fight against Cro Cop with a huge advantage, as there is very little footage of dos Santos to study.

Cro Cop enters the fight at a supreme disadvantage. Even after his victory over Mostapha Al-turk, he hasn't had much success in the UFC.

There is also a ton of film to study on Cro Cop's techiniques and tendencies which could put dos Santos on the fast track to victory.

There is one certainty going into UFC 103: Neither Cro Cop nor dos Santos is going to be looking for a submission victory. Both have the ability to gain a submission victory, but it is most likely going to be a slug-fest.

Cro Cop is known for having knockout power in both legs, describing his kicks in short as, "right kick: hospital, left kick: cemetery." He may be able to take advantage of early aggression from dos Santos and score points or a victory early on.

Dos Santos is primarily a puncher, but showed in his fight with Fabricio Werdum that he will trade leg kicks. However, in review of the 1:21 that fight lasted, dos Santos did not check Werdum's kicks, but settled for answering back.

That strategy is not viable against someone with the kicking power that Cro Cop possesses.

It will be shocking if the fight doesn't end with a TKO or KO. Cro Cop has a lot to prove after a couple of losses in his first crack at the UFC and a controversial victory in his return to the UFC.

Dos Santos is just looking to climb his way to the top of the division, cutting down any and all opponents in his wake with his brutal striking.

If there is only one certainty going into Saturday's pay-per-view, it is that both men will be letting their fists and feet fly with reckless abandon. Fan's can only be excited about the potential for fireworks from the UFC 103 headline match up.

Prediction: Junior dos Santos second-round TKO victory via strikes