UFC 131: 5 Reasons Shane Carwin Stands No Chance Against Junior Dos Santos

Originally set to face former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 131, Junior Dos Santos will now face former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin in a heavyweight No. 1 contender tilt. The winner gets his shot at champ Cain Velasquez.

Massive in size and coming from a high-level wrestling pedigree, Carwin shares some similarities with "Cigano's" original opponent. The main difference between Carwin and Lesnar however lies in Carwin's devastating punching power.

However, Carwin will be facing an opponent in Dos Santos with just as much, if not more, power in his hands. Add to that a few other key advantages on this list, and Carwin looks to be biting off more than he can chew. Here's five reasons you'll be seeing Junior Dos Santos with his hand raised instead of Shane Carwin.

Take Down Defense

Photo courtesy of Dave Mandel and Sherdog.com

While Shane Carwin prefers to use his power and size to keep the fight standing in order to finish, his NCAA II National Championship suggests he could shoot in for a single or double leg takedown as a possibility.

While it may be a stretch, if he does decide to try his luck at a takedown, he'll probably find it difficult. Dos Santos and his Blackhouse counterparts have been training in wrestling with their own NCAA champion, UFC middleweight Mark Munoz.

As evidenced by his cauliflower ear, "Cigano" has been putting in work on the mats. Judging by how hard it was for Penn State wrestling alum Phil Davis to take down Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Carwin would encounter similar problems. Dos Santos might even shoot in for a takedown of his own like he did in his fight with Roy Nelson at UFC 117.

Jiu Jitsu

Photo courtesy of mmamania.com

While we may not have seen much of it, Junior Dos Santos has some skills on the ground. Having earned Bahia State titles in Jiu Jitsu and Submissions, he is also a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Dos Santos has also trained in Jiu Jitsu with ADCC world submission wrestling champion and former UFC middleweight No. 1 contender Demian Maia.

Should "The Engineer" try to engineer a ground offense on Dos Santos, he might be in for some trouble.

Training Partners

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While Shane Carwin trains with what many consider to be the best gym/team/trainer combo in the sport at Jackson's Submission Fighting, Junior Dos Santos trains with some of the best fighters to ever compete in mixed martial arts.

The Blackhouse roster holds the likes of former PRIDE and UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, former strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael Cavalcante, strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza and UFC middleweight and featherweight champions Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo.

Not a bad bunch to be around at all.

Better Cardio

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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Mirko Cro Cop (L) is stopped by referee after losing to opponent UFC fighter Junior Dos Santo (R) during their Heavyweight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in D

Shane Carwin's first 12 professional mixed martial arts fights never went past the first round. All 12 were first-round finishes for Carwin, the majority of which came by either KO or TKO.

However, come fight No. 13 for the UFC heavyweight title, Carwin lost, this time in Round 2. The one time Carwin went past the first round, his gas tank was already empty. He ended up being submitted via arm triangle at UFC 116 by Brock Lesnar.

The key to beating Carwin is to survive his early onslaught. Given Junior's speed and cardio, he should be able to stand his ground and use the following to win the fight...

Boxing

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DALLAS - SEPTEMBER 19: UFC fighter Junior Dos Santos (R) battles UFC fighter Mirko Cro Cop (L) during their Heavyweight bout at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort at the American Airlines Center on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/

Everyone knows Shane Carwin can throw bombs.

The thing is, so can Junior Dos Santos, except his are more precise and better technically. Dos Santos' boxing is technically superior to Carwin's. "Cigano" has the ability land a better variety of punches from more angles, with more accuracy and in combination than Carwin's one or two power punches. Carwin's one-dimensional power will give way to Dos Santos' cleaner and crisper technique.

Carwin is a Remington 870 shotgun, but Dos Santos is a Barrett M82 sniper rifle. Both can blow your head off, but one is way more accurate.