Junior dos Santos talks about his preparation and aspirations ahead of his main event against Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 86, on April 10.
Junior dos Santos is looking for redemption next Sunday, as the former UFC heavyweight champion prepares for the first UFC show in Croatia. “Cigano” will look to get back in the win column following a disappointing KO loss to Alistair Overeem in December.
Dos Santos believes he will achieve that goal at American Top Team, where he has been training since his last match.
“This is my second camp at ATT. I spent the whole time there. I could feel the development happening as each day passed.” Dos Santos told Portal do Vale Tudo. “I felt good and a little more adapted as well. It’s a big, quality team. The new gym has everything I need when it comes to training. I think we did a good job and I’m ready to surprise everyone on Sunday and get that win, which will be the first step to reclaim that belt. It will be a tough fight against a tough guy, but it’ll be the first step towards the good times of my career, again.”
Injury-free, the 32-year old intends to fight more often in order to climb the ranking ladder even faster.
“It had been a while since I had two fights back to back. Most people know I have been through some hard times, but I feel good now. I fought in December and now I have another fight. I want to keep this up, because it’s important to stay active and have a good number of fights per year. I’m glad everything went well so I’m going in there with great expectations.”
Junior dos Santos will meet Ben Rothwell in the main event of UFC Fight Night 86, on April 10, in Zagreb, Croatia. Another pair of heavyweights, Gabriel Gonzaga and Derrick Lewis will square off in the co-main event of the evening.