Junior dos Santos seems to be pulling out all the stops ahead of his rematch with Fabricio Werdum at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 5 this coming September and “Cigano” is not shy about showing off his results.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight king has been bulking back up since parting ways with the premier MMA promotion back in 2021. Dos Santos made a quick appearance under the Eagle FC banner — which he ended up losing after suffering a shoulder injury — before turning his attention to different forms of combat. Most thought “Cigano” would defer to boxing, but he now finds himself on the cusp of a bareknuckle fight with Werdum.
In case you forgot, JDS and Werdum fought once before back at UFC 90 in 2008. It was dos Santos’ official UFC debut and he ended up delivering one of the most memorable knockout finishes of his career. He flatlined Werdum with a nasty TKO just 80 seconds into the first round. Werdum scurried back to Strikeforce after the loss as dos Santos worked his way up the UFC heavyweight rankings to become champion.
Almost 15 years later and the two fighters are once again on a heavyweight collision course. Dos Santos and Werdum are well removed from their fighting primes and may be working the system to bulk themselves back up, but their bareknuckle MMA showdown next month should be a memorable one.
In advance to their rematch, “Cigano” has revealed a revamped physique post-UFC. Dos Santos is much bigger than what fight fans remember and it’s pretty alarming considering he’s nearly 40 years old. However, as long as dos Santos is building himself back up within limitation of his fight contract who are we to doubt his process?
Check out some recent photos of JDS at the top of the page and let us know your thoughts.
Is his transformation all natural or is there something else going on here?
Sound off!