UFC Champ Junior Dos Santos Contemplating Olympic Run

Source: Tatame

Much like UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos has aspirations of a possible Olympic run. Dos Santos recently won his first UFC title by knocking out Cain Velasquez earlier this month.

Dos Santos, in a recent interview with Tatame.com, talked about how he might try to qualify for the Olympics in 2016, which are scheduled for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"My trainings begin and end with boxing. There are dynamics and strategies I'm already used to. But I'll test myself, it's inevitable," dos Santos said. "Who knows I get an Olympic medal. Everything's possible."

Luiz Carlos Dorea, who was a mentor for former world champions in boxing, believes dos Santos could transition to the Olympic-level in boxing. Dorea is the current boxing coach for "Cigano."

"The adaptations from boxing to MMA are complex. You gotta be careful about blocking the kicks and takedowns," Dorea said. "If he's already above average combining all those things, imagine when he fights traditional boxing. The chances he'll shine are huge, both on professional and Olympic boxing."

Dos Santos is currently waiting to find out who his next opponent will be, as Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem meet in a No. 1 contender bout on December 30 at UFC 141.

Could dos Santos balance a career in MMA with an Olympic run? Let us know in our "Comments" section below.

Dana Becker is a staff writer for FightLine.com. He can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DanaBecker.