• UFC 155

Dos Santos hammers Overeem in conference call

ESPN staff
December 19, 2012
Junior Dos Santos ditched his 'nice' image when it came to discussing Alistair Overeem © Getty Images
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Junior Dos Santos fired a shot at Alistair Overeem ahead of his UFC 155 heavyweight title showdown with Cain Velasquez, insisting he and Velasquez - unlike Overeem - were "made in the gym".

Dos Santos heads into a huge end-of-year collision with Velasquez in Las Vegas, hoping to defeat the former champion for a second time in his UFC career.

Victory for Dos Santos would likely see him head for a showdown with Overeem, if Overeem gets past Antonio Bigfoot Silva at UFC 156. Should that fight happen, there would be plenty of ill-feeling between the two men.

Dos Santos has little respect for Overeem, claiming the Dutchman has harmed the image of the sport by failing drug tests. He has no problem facing Overeem, but insists he prefers to face somebody of Velasquez's class, knowing Velasquez has trodden a clean path to the top.

"I prefer to fight against clean athletes and real professionals," Dos Santos said on Wednesday. "Cain is one of these guys. He's a real professional fighter and that's a good challenge for me. I know he's very tough and I know how hard I have to train to face him.

"The other guys, they just say things but there's nothing behind the words. Guys like me and Cain Velasquez, we are made at the gym. And guys like the other guy, they are made at the laboratory."

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