UFC on Fox Velasquez vs. dos Santos: 5 Fighters Who Could Defeat JDS

Junior dos Santos knocked out Cain Velasquez tonight to claim the UFC heavyweight championship of the world on the first UFC on Fox show.

Dos Santos landed a crushing overhand right to just behind the ear of the former champ Velasquez and sent the big man tumbling face down on to the canvas. Dos Santos followed up with a few shots, but they were all a formality.

The heavyweight title seems to be a hot potato, and the division is as deep as it has ever been. It is already said that dos Santos will defend his title first against the winner of Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem that takes place at the end of the year.

The division is shaping up to be a very intriguing one in 2012 with many possible matches too razor thin to call.

Here are Five Fighters Who Could Defeat JDS.

5. Brock Lesnar

While I think Lesnar is the least likely to dethrone the new champ based on his chin being his weak spot and JDS being magical and powerful with his hands, Lesnar has a chance to win in any fight.

He is a behemoth wrestler with frozen turkeys for fists, and he can put you in danger at any point, and if he ever faced JDS, I'm sure he could get top position on him.

Lesnar has to face his fear of getting punched when he faces Alistair Overeem in December. If he can overcome that demon, there is no reason why he can't defeat JDS and reclaim the title he feels is rightfully his.

4. Frank Mir

In order to beat JDS, you have to be cerebral and game plan to his weaknesses. There is no better game planner in the division than veteran UFC fighter Frank Mir.

Mir has improved his boxing in leaps and bounds in recent years and could at least hang with JDS while it is on the feet. Mir also has some well-rounded ground-and-submission skills to pose a danger to Junior there as well.

Mir could try and take one last shot at the title, and JDS may be the perfect matchup for him out of all the big guys at the top.

3. Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez just did not look right tonight, and there is a simple explanation why. When a fighter is coming off major surgery and a long time off, he doesn't want his comeback fight to be the biggest fight in the history of the universe.

He was caught in a case of horrible stars aligning for his first title defence, and he paid dearly. Dana White was critical in his game plan to stand in front of JDS in the early going but hind sight is 20-20 from behind a desk in a chair.

If Velasquez gets another shot in another time and place, he will put in a much better performance and even possibly beat the Brazilian this time around.

2. Josh Barnett

Josh Barnett is currently getting ready for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Final vs. Daniel Cormier that will take place early next year.

It says here that Barnett will win that title and will pave his way for a UFC contract. Barnett has always been a very tough matchup for anyone with his catch wrestling-and-submission style, and he is a very good heel as well.

With Junior dos Santos having a squeaky clean, teddy bear image, Barnett could be the perfect foil for JDS's run at the top. Unlike fellow heel Lesnar, Barnett can take a punch and could get inside on JDS and maul him to victory.

Alistair Overeem

It may take a pure puncher's chance to dethrone the slick boxing of the new champ and what better launcher out there than new kid on the block and former K-1 star Alistair Overeem.

If these two were to meet, it would be sure to be a stand up affair, with Overeem always capable of landing that one big bomb. Neither man would have to concern themselves with defending the takedown, and both could dig in and let them fly.

While dos Santos is a much better boxer than Overeem, Overeem is a talented enough striker with knockout power, and he could be the man to hit the button on JDS. When he hits the button, the lights usually go out, and it would be no different with Junior.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and correspondent for MMACanada.net.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.