UFC 131 Fight Card: What Shane Carwin Must Do to Beat Junior dos Santos

UFC 131's main event is being billed as a heavyweight showdown of epic proportions.

Former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin is set to take on Brazilian striking phenom Junior dos Santos.

Dos Santos is being touted by many as the next big thing at heavyweight. He is 12-1 in MMA, undefeated in the UFC, has the crispest and arguably most powerful striking in the UFC heavyweight division and is only 26 years of age to boot!

Despite these seeming unconquerable attributes, Dos Santos can be beaten. There is one word that Carwin must pay attention to for victory to be assured: wrestling.

Although Carwin is a powerful puncher (seven of his 12 victories have come by knockout, all of his victories in the UFC were by (T)KO as well) it makes little sense to try and slug it out with Dos Santos.

Simply put, the striking part of this match is dangerous for both men. Each fighter can, at the very least, stun the other fighter with a solid hit if not floor him outright.

Thus, keeping the fight standing is more of a gamble for Carwin than bringing it to the ground—a feat which he is entirely capable of doing due to his background as an NCAA Division II champion.

In truth, we have not seen Dos Santos contend with a true wrestler. He has fought grappling aces Fabricio Werdum and Roy "Big Country" Nelson but Brazilian jiu-jitsu players do not often have the takedown abilities of even mediocre wrestlers.

If there is a man to put Dos Santos on his back, it is Carwin.

Some may say that a strategy of using wrestling to grind Dos Santos down will be impossible given Carwin's condition issues. But Carwin has since addressed that problem, losing weight and becoming more fit overall (this incarnation is being lauded as "Shane Carwin 2.0" by fan-boys and pundits).

To put it bluntly, this is what Shane Carwin must do:

Use his wrestling to smother Dos Santos, preferably on the ground, but if not against the cage. This will have the added benefit of Dos Santos not being able to open up his striking as much since he will fear the takedown.

This consequence may give Carwin the opportunity he needs to land that one devastating punch he is capable of landing en route to becoming the number one contender once more.