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Former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos still wants to have one more go at Francis Ngannou.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos is not over his quick knockout loss to fellow contender Francis Ngannou just yet. Although he is expected to take on Alexander Volkov in November, ‘Cigano’ would still like to have one more go at the ‘Predator’ should he win his upcoming bout against the Russian.
In an interview with Ag Fight, Cigano gives credit to Ngannou for landing a perfect punch that finished the fight in just 71 seconds, but also believes that the match ended too quickly to show who the superior fighter is among the two of them.
“This fight (with Ngannou) needs to happen again. It’s obvious that I want to fight Miocic again, I would even accept to fight Cain, but he’s out of the picture. If I beat Volkov, I think this rematch with Ngannou would be essential, because he showed no superiority whatsoever. On the contrary, I felt good in the beginning, so much so that I ended up exposing myself, which was not part of our strategy. My intention was to move around and tire him out, but I felt so good, I saw my strikes landing. I threw a powerful swing, missed, and he was smart enough to throw a cross. It’s one of those strikes that come out of nowhere, but I don’t mean to take credit away from him. This rematch needs to happen.”
Paired up against Alexander Volkov for his next fight, however, Junior believes it will be a fun striking match for the fans, since a grappling battle seems to be out of the question for the Russian, unless he wants to try his luck, according to Cigano.
“I think it has everything to be a great fight. Volkov is extremely tough, he has good reach. He’s a kickboxer, he knows how to use front kicks well, he always walks forward, he knows how to use his reach. I think it’s the type of fight that will really entertain the crowd. I’m a striker and so is he, so it has everything to be a barnburner. I don’t think grappling me is an option for him, so he’ll striker because it’s the only option he has. If he tries to grapple me, he’ll pay a high price.”
In his last fight, Junior dos Santos (21-6) was knocked out by Francis Ngannou, back in June. Before the loss, though, the 35-year-old was on a three-fight winning streak, with victories over the likes Blagoy Ivanov, Tai Tuivasa and former title challenger Derrick Lewis. Now, Junior dos Santos is expected to take on Alexander Volkov at UFC Fight Night 163’s main event, in Moscow, Russia, on November 9.