Junior dos Santos respects the accomplishments of Stipe Miocic, but he still considers Fedor Emelianenko to be the best heavyweight in the history of MMA.
The former UFC heavyweight champion recently spoke to The Schmo ahead of his Eagle FC main event bout against Yorgan De Castro. When the interviewer mentioned Eagle FC owner Khabib Nurmagomedov’s suggestion that dos Santos could face Emelianenko if he wins against De Castro, “Cigano” was open to the matchup.
“I’m a big, big fan of Fedor Emelianenko. I think he’s the greatest heavyweight ever you know, in MMA. For me to be sharing that octagon with him will be something amazing.”
The 38-year old dos Santos has shared the cage with some of some the best heavyweights in the history of the sport. He won the UFC heavyweight championship in 2011 at UFC on FOX 1 in the first of three fights with Cain Velasquez, but he’s also fought current UFC champion Francis Ngannou as well as former champions Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic.
Two-time UFC champion Miocic is considered by many to be the best heavyweight in the history of the sport, but dos Santos isn’t so sure.
“Yeah, Stipe Miocic is the new generation best heavyweight,” Dos Santos responded when asked how Miocic compares to Fedor. “But for the whole time you know, the guy [Fedor] who back in the day man there was kind of a magical thing in the air you know, when they were fighting back in the day there in Pride. That was so amazing, everything was so beautiful, so exciting you know. So that’s why I say you know, he’s the greatest heavyweight ever.”
Currently signed with Bellator, MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko is on a two-fight win streak following first-round finishes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Tim Johnson. The former Pride champion has one fight left on his deal with Bellator following his win over Tim Johnson last year.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos is set to face Yorgan De Castro in the main event of Eagle FC 47. dos Santos debuted in the UFC in 2008 and won the UFC heavyweight championship in 2011 but parted ways with the promotion after his fourth-straight stoppage loss in 2020.
What do you make of dos Santos’s claim that Fedor is the greatest heavyweight of all time over Stipe Miocic?
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