JDS wants to beat Lewis to get a shot at UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, whom he wants to battle before DC hangs up the gloves.
”People want to see the best fighting for the title, and I think I’ll be on my way to the belt with this win,” Dos Santos said to MMA Fighting. “That makes me happy because I know Cormier is planning on retiring soon and one of my goals would be fighting him before he retires. There are several important fights I still want to do, but since he’s retiring soon, it would be a challenge that would both motivate and excite me.”
Cormier said he wanted to retire in March of this year, meaning DC could be less than two months away from stepping away from the Octagon for good.
If an opportunity to fight DC doesn’t come to fruition, a fourth fight with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez would suit Dos Santos.
”I’ve fought Velasquez three times and (Cormier) has talked a lot of things in the past, so it would be very interesting to be able to fight him now,” Dos Santos said. “If Velasquez isn’t fighting, let’s catch his professor. When I fought Velasquez, (Cormier) was very controversial, talked a lot of crap. I usually don’t care about it, don’t pay attention to idiots… Not that I’m calling him an idiot, but when you talk too much you become an idiot. There’s a bit of that to me, fighting him would almost be like a fourth fight with Velasquez. Velasquez said a long time ago that this fight wouldn’t interest him anymore, kind of avoiding the situation. Brother, I’m fine with everything that happened. He won, great, but I’m made of truth and I’m proving that by re-building myself. How many times are necessary. Mistakes happen, we’re not perfect. Sometimes we make mistakes and pay a high price for that, but if you’re made of truth you can re-build yourself. That’s what I’m doing. Velasquez said (a fourth fight with me) wouldn’t interest him anymore, that it wouldn’t make sense, kind of avoiding the situation, and then he disappeared. He was out for years, and looks like he’s coming back. We’ll see what happens in the future, but, undoubtedly, I have many important fights I want to do again. Not only the rematch with Velasquez, but a third fight with Miocic… There’s a rematch with (Alistair) Overeem, but I’m giving up on that because that guy won’t ever accept it again. He was lucky that night and will never accept it again. My goal is to become champion, of course. With Cormier wanting to retire, I thought this fight would be very interesting. He’s an exceptional guy, a two-division champion. I wasn’t around in Fedor’s (Emelianenko) era, it would have been a great pleasure to face him, so I want to fight a two-division champion before he retires.”
UFC Fight Night Wichita takes place on Saturday, March 9 from the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas with Derrick Lewis and Junior Dos Santos headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the evet, which streams live on ESPN+.
