Junior dos Santos News

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2017

According to reliable Brazilian MMA publication Combate, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will next defend his title against an old foe in Junior Dos Santos. Combate’s report says this heavyweight title fight is likely to headline UFC 211, which will occur in Dallas, Texas on May 13. Miocic and Dos Santos first met back in December of 2013. On that night, Dos Santos weathered an early storm to steal the momentum in the second half of the fight, and ultimately capture a contentious unanimous decision win. This criminally unheralded heavyweight war earned the pair Fight of the Night honors.

Tom Taylor - January 13, 2017

Until yesterday, Brazilian heavyweight Junior Dos Santos expected to return to the Octagon against Stefan Struve on February 19 in Halifax. Regrettably, however, Struve was forced out of this planned scrap with an injury, which left Dos Santos without an opponent. Still eager to fight in the near future, Dos Santos now has his eyes on two potential opponents. One is former champion Fabricio Werdum, who he knocked out back in 2008. The other is heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, who he defeated by decision in 2014.

Tom Taylor - January 13, 2017

This February, Stefan Struve was supposed to have the opportunity to avenge one of the ugliest losses of his career: a crushing 2009 knockout dealt by Junior Dos Santos. The two heavyweights were expected to rematch on February 19 in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Regrettably, Struve was forced out of this bout with a should injury, which means his shot at redemption at Dos Santos will have to wait. On Thursday evening, the towering Dutchman took to social media to shed some light on his injury, give a timeframe for his return, and apologize to his fans and planned opponent. His words:

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2017

With a tough 2-3 record in his last 5 fights, former UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos entered his April showdown with Ben Rothwell in dire need of a win. Luckily for the Brazilian and his many fans, he was able to produce that win, bludgeoning his dangerous foe to a sound, unanimous decision. Regrettably, dos Santos sustained a shoulder injury in this bout that would ultimately require surgery. By late August, however, the former champ had been adequately patched up and was ready to return to action. So began the hunt for his next opponent.

Tom Taylor - December 14, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos has recently been angling for a fight with reigning champ Stipe Miocic. Apparently, however, the Brazilian striker has settled for a fight with towering Dutchman Stefan Struve. The two heavyweights will meet in the main event of the UFC’s return to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on February 19. Dos Santos and Struve, of course, have met once before. Their first fight occurred at UFC 95, all the way back in 2009. On that night, Dos Santos earned a TKO win in a mere 54 seconds. Since that first fight, the two fighters have embarked on very different career trajectories.

Tom Taylor - December 13, 2016

Today, the UFC heavyweight division is ruled by Croatian-American destroyer Stipe Miocic. Miocic won the title back in May, when he flatlined an overaggressive Fabricio Werdum with a brilliantly placed punch. The heavyweight king then made a successful defense of his title in September, when he delivered his third straight first-round KO against decorated veteran Alistair Overeem. In the wake of his knockout of Overeem, Miocic has elected to take a bit of time off to recharge his batteries. While he does so, the heavyweight division’s highest ranked contenders, Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez, will battle for a shot at him when he’s ready to return.

Tom Taylor - November 25, 2016

Yesterday afternoon, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos issued one of the most courteous callouts in UFC history. The recipient of this callout was current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, who he defeated with a narrow decision back in late 2014. If Dos Santos gets his way, this rematch with the reigning champ will occur at UFC 209 in Brooklyn in February. Hey @stipemiocicufc enjoy Thanksgiving in ur new home- hope it's filled w great food & friends. Let's fight after the holidays?Brooklyn? LMK

Tom Taylor - November 25, 2016

Yesterday, as anybody whose stomach is still full of turkey knows, was thanksgiving in the United States of America. Over the course of this November Holiday, many of the UFC’s top fighters – including several current champions – took to Twitter to explain what they’re thankful for. Fighters like UFC strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk, lightweight veteran Joe Lauzon, and welterweight contender Kamaru Usman said they were thankful for their family, friends and fans.

Tom Taylor - November 4, 2016

In May of this year, Croatian-American super athlete Stipe Miocic knocked out an over-aggressive Fabricio Werdum to win the UFC heavyweight title. Since then, the new champion has defended the title with a first-round knockout of heavyweight legend Alistair Overeem. After this busy stretch of action, Miocic has elected to take some time off to recharge. While he enjoys this well-deserved bit of R&R, the heavyweight division’s top contenders are all working hard to stake their claim at the next crack at his title.

Russell Ess - October 26, 2016

A historic UFC fight is set to headline the stacked UFC 205 New York card on November 12 at Madison Square Garden. UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will challenge UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez for his lightweight strap. What sets this title fight apart from the rest is if McGregor is victorious over Alvarez at UFC 205, he will become the first fighter in UFC history to ever hold two division’s titles simultaneously.

Tom Taylor - October 18, 2016

In late 2011, Junior Dos Santos planted a bomb behind the ear of then heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. A few followup ground-strikes later, and the heavyweight title was his. Given that this title-winning knockout occured in just 64 seconds, however, many fight fans felt that they hadn’t actually seen Dos Santos and Velasquez fight. We’d seen Dos Santos land the right punch at the right time, yes, but his winning so quickly deprived us of the chance to see what Velasquez was really capable of.

bjpenndotcom - September 10, 2016

Saturday night at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, hometown superstar Stipe Miocic will look to defend his UFC heavyweight title against arguably the most decorated fighter in the UFC, Alistair Overeem. Ahead of the fight, the MMA community is rather torn on who they think will fin the fight. While some believe that Overeem’s elite level striking will result in him leaving ‘The Land’ with the heavyweight strap, others believe that Miocic will continue his 3-fight win streak and retain his heavyweight strap.

bjpenndotcom - September 7, 2016

Not many fighters have better hands than Junior ‘Cigano’ dos Santos. The Brazilian slugger has 12 knockout victories to his name, and has put down some of the heavyweight division’s best with his hands alone. ‘Cigano’ blasted on to the scene with an uppercut knockout of eventual champion Fabricio Werdum, and showed off his slick boxing in knockouts of Cain Velasquez, Frank Mir, and Stefan Struve, amongst many others. Dos Santos even was a color commentator during the Brazilian Olympic boxing broadcast in Rio.

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPcR_5BPcDs Things were looking pretty rough for Junior Dos Santos at the end of 2015. On December 19, in his first fight in over a year, the former heavyweight champ looked torpid and gun-shy, and was ultimately knocked out by Alistair Overeem.

Chris Taylor - July 10, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos took to Twitter to congratulate Brock Lesnar on his UFC 200 victory over Mark Hunt and to ask “The Beast” for a future fight: Congratulations on your victory Brock.

Chris Taylor - May 22, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos picked up an impressive decision victory over Ben Rothwell in the main event of UFC Fight Night 86 this past April. Following his loss to “JDS”, Rothwell stated that taking the fight was “strategically stupid”, as dos Santos was coming off of a loss.

Russell Ess - April 11, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos put on a dominant performance against the highly talented Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 86 this weekend. Dos Santos put a clinic on Rothwell as the two fought to a five-round decision in the main event of the UFC’s debut in Croatia. See what the MMA community had to say in regards to dos Santos’ performance against Rothwell in Zagreb, Croatia.

Russell Ess - April 11, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos put on a dominant performance against the highly talented Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 86. Dos Santos and Rothwell fought to a five-round decision in the main event of UFC’s first event in Croatia.