Dos Santos is hoping to face Werdum for the heavyweight title

Junior dos Santos burst into the MMA consciousness with a stirring knockout victory over Fabricio Werdum at UFC 90 in 2008, and he's hoping to get another chance to separate "Vai Cavalo" from his consciousness with the heavyweight title on the line.

Of course, for that to happen Werdum would need to topple dominant champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 188 in Mexico City in June. Since dos Santos was absolutely dominated by Velasquez in two out of their three bouts, "Cigano" is hoping for Werdum to leave Mexico with the title.

"Werdum likes to talk trash, he is controversial. He likes to put words in people's mouths. If he wins, I think I'll face him right away", dos Santos told Combate, according to BloodyElbow.com's Lucas Rezende. "That would be a great rematch. If Cain wins, however, I will probably have to fight once or twice more. I hope Werdum wins. It would be great if the fight happened in Brazil. Two Brazilians fighting for the heavyweight title would be amazing for the country and for the sport. I got nothing personal against anybody. He's on a good streak and I hope he performs well, but I don't think it will be easy."

Werdum is a completely different fighter than he was in 2008, adding some solid kickboxing skills to his world class grappling. This fact is not lost on dos Santos.

"Werdum's Muay Thai has evolved a lot and Cain has been on the sidelines for a long time, though I don't think that will be a hindrance for him," dos Santos said. "His partners will make sure he won't be rusty for the fight. It's a fight people will like to watch. Werdum has a chance on the floor, that's his specialty and he can't risk too much. He needs to take it where he is comfortable. He has the best jiu-jitsu in the heavyweight division. That's his chance, because (he) is a huge favorite over any heavyweight out there."