On one side is the UFC heavyweight champion, a strapping Brazilian with a gentle voice and an infectious smile.
On the other is the challenger, a hulking, menacing-looking Dutch kickboxer who thoughtfully pauses before answering in an equally soft-spoken tone.
And while there might not be any boisterous trash-talking or weigh-in histrionics between the two before their May 26 clash at UFC 146 in Las Vegas, Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem agree the biggest and loudest explosion will occur after they enter the Octagon.
"Well, it's gonna be a good challenge for me. He's very strong, a huge guy and a very good fighter on his feet, so it's gonna be a good fight," said dos Santos (14-1), who appeared with Overeem this week at Morton's in Burbank to promote the fight.
"I wanna pass ... this challenge. I want to win this fight. Of course, I wanna win. But I'm gonna give more than me, you know, to try to knock him out. Because the challenge is the striker against the striker, so it's gonna be a good fight."
The UFC has loaded this Memorial Day weekend card in more ways than one. In what can honestly be billed as more than a ton of action, an organization-record five heavyweight bouts are scheduled for the main event at the MGM Grand, including a No. 1 contender bout between former champions Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir.
The 238-pound Dos Santos will be making his first title defense after knocking out Velasquez at 1:04 of the first round in November at Staples Center in UFC's first fight on Fox.
In his path, however, is a 265-pound former DREAM and Strikeforce champion who made a tidal wave of a splash in his UFC debut in December, stopping Brock Lesnar in the first round with a series of devastating knee strikes to the body that left the former champ crumpled against the cage.
"I think it's gonna be fireworks," said Overeem, 32, of his showdown with dos Santos. "He's a striker that goes for the kill. I'm a
striker that goes for the kill. Which means he's not a decision fighter and neither am I, so I think there's gonna be fireworks."Whereas Overeem (36-11) has a wealth of fighting experience and boasts victories over elite fighters like Fabricio Werdum, Mark Hunt and Vitor Belfort, the 28-year-old dos Santos has been a mixed-martial artist for only six years, compiling a 14-1 record and going 8-0 in the UFC.
"It's amazing, man. Like I said, I'm a blessed guy. Everything that's in my life is amazing. I really love who I am and I really love to be who I am: a fighter," dos Santos said. "I'm really enjoying everything. I'm getting a better life for myself and for my family. And I think it's important. The important thing is you give for yourself and for your family a better life, and that's why I'm so happy now."
MMA fans got their first good glimpse of dos Santos when he served as one of the coaches on Season 13 of the reality show "The Ultimate Fighter." Viewers saw a passionate instructor who enjoyed teaching his charges as much celebrating their victories.
That easy-going nature was on display the other day as dos Santos and Overeem sat a few feet from each other, exchanging compliments and trading laughs when discussing whether they wanted their loved ones around during the last week of training.
But both know it's all business and then some when the cage door closes behind them.
"The beast comes out," Overeem said. "No, I think I have a dark side, Junior has a dark side. Everybody has a dark side.
"I just have it more."
brian.martin@dailynews.com
twitter.com/TheBMartin
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