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Junior dos Santos has his plans well established for his future in the heavyweight division.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos doesn’t want to waste any time on his way back to another title shot. After getting knocked out by Francis Ngannou in only 71 seconds back in June, ‘Cigano’ is hoping he can get a rematch against the ‘Predator’—one that would put him back in title contention.
In an interview with Combate, Junior explained that his desire to take on Ngannou again is part of the path to securing a trilogy bout against now champion again Stipe Miocic. Cigano defeated Miocic via unanimous decision back in 2014, but was knocked out in the first round of their 2017 rematch.
“I want to fight. My intention is to come back as soon as possible. My main goal right now is to have a rematch with Ngannou as soon as possible, and then a third fight with Miocic.”
Although not on Junior’s radar, he would also not turn down a fight against former champion Daniel Cormier, who Miocic just knocked out back in August. For the Brazilian, it would be an honor to share the Octagon with someone as decorated as ‘DC’.
“I think Cormier is an extremely tough guy. He’s a hard fight for anyone, but it would be a great fight for me. I would love it. When I fought Velasquez, he (Cormier) talked a lot of trash back then. So, it would even make sense. Let’s see. If this Volkov fight really happens, I don’t know, let’s see what the future holds. But I think this fight would please the fans.”
Rumors have been swirling that Dos Santos will face Volkov in the main event of UFC Moscow this November. However, from the sound of things, that bout is far from certain. In his last outing, Dos Santos (21-6) was knocked out by Francis Ngannou. The loss snapped a three-fight winning streak for the 35-year-old, including victories over Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa, and Blagoy Ivanov.