Fabricio Werdum eyeing rematch with Junior dos Santos

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is eyeing a rematch against long-time rival Junior dos Santos when he returns to the Octagon in 2020.

Werdum and dos Santos first met back at UFC 90 in October 2008 in what was JDS’s UFC debut. Werdum was a big favorite to win the fight, but JDS shocked the MMA world when he brutally knocked Werdum out in the first round in less than two minutes.

Werdum has not fought since March 2018 due to a USADA suspension but he is scheduled to return early next year once his suspension is up.

Speaking to Combate, Werdum’s long-time manager Rafael Cordeiro spoke about the return of Werdum and said the team is targeting a rematch against JDS in his return.

“I’m waiting for the time to see the gaucho back. I think the suspension ends in April. It was a pretty unfair decision what USADA did to him. They really couldn’t find anything, couldn’t show what it was there. It was very sad for us in that sense, to be waiting so long for him to fight again. But he’s a gay guy, that’s the strongest part of him. He is training three times a week with us here, doing jiu-jitsu with (Rubens) Cobrinha and (Romulus) Barral. It’s focusing on that athletic part. He’s doing a lot of seminars around the world, and he’s still there with the public watching him,” Cordeiro said.

“We believe that 2020 will be a great year with the return of our champion and will surely return to fight for the title. His fight with (Junior) Cigano would be very interesting. I don’t know about the Gypsy, but on Werdum’s side it’s something he wants to do for a long time. When Werdum were champions, it didn’t make much sense, now with both of them coming in defeat would be interesting. If you have a problem, already solve there and do what you have to do. They are two great athletes and a rematch would be a good round for the champion.”

With Werdum coming off of a TKO loss to Volkov and with JDS coming off of a TKO loss to Francis Ngannou, the rematch makes a lot of sense for both men at this time.

Are you interested in a rematch between Fabricio Werdum and Junior dos Santos?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 11/28/2019.