Credit: tatame.com

Junior dos Santos has cemented his place as the UFC’s number one contender by defeating Shane Carwin via dominant unanimous decision earlier this month at UFC 131.

As a result of the three-round beating he put on Carwin, dos Santos will face Cain Velasquez as soon as the champ recovers from shoulder surgery. Speaking with Tatame.com recently, “Cigano” discussed his tentative gameplan for taking on the world’s consensus top heavyweight and what it will mean for him to challenge for the title.

“Velasquez is a guy who has great conditioning, so he’s a guy I want to go for the knockout or the submission,” he said. “I can’t give him time to work on what he likes, the takedowns and doing the ground and pound game.”

Dos Santos originally earned a shot at the title by defeating Roy Nelson in August of 2010, but was forced to delay that shot while Velasquez underwent and recovered from shoulder surgery. In the meantime, he took a fight against the very dangerous Shane Carwin in order to stay busy and sharp. Finally, the 26-year-old will challenge for the belt, a goal which he has had since entering the sport.

“That’s the dream,” dos Santos said of fighting for the belt. “Most athletes dream about it and so do I. I really want to become a champion. It’ll change my life more than it’s already changed, and I’ll keep doing it. Becoming UFC’s champion is a huge thing for me.”

Though nothing has been announced officially, dos Santos and Velasquez are rumored to be facing off this November 19 at UFC 138.