Junior dos Santos Predicts Knockout of Shane Carwin at UFC 131

On Thursday the UFC announced in a conference call that Brock Lesnar was pulling out of his scheduled fight with Junior dos Santos because of his ongoing bout with diverticulitis. They also announced that Shane Carwin, who lost to Lesnar in July, would be the replacement fighter.

Before Carwin was named as the replacement, dos Santos had called out Lesnar by suggesting he did steroids and saying he has a weak chin. His confidence and comments haven’t stopped now that he has a new opponent.

According to Sherdog, dos Santos has already predicted victory. “It’s gonna be a great fight with tough blows from both sides,” dos Santos said. “I would say that it will end by knockout.”

Dos Santos did call Carwin an excellent fighter, but of course he still thinks he’ll win as any fighter should. Carwin was supposed to fight Roy Nelson on New Year’s but had to pull out because of neck pain that later required surgery. He hasn’t fought since losing to Lesnar in July, and he was in the news in August for being named in a steroids bust.

Carwin gave Lesnar all he could handle in their fight last summer and should be a challenge for dos Santos. Though it won’t generate the buzz and pay-per-view buys without Lesnar participating, this is a fairly even matchup that should be quite exciting. As of now I’ll go with Junior dos Santos to win it.