Tag: Junior dos Santos

Junior Dos Santos, Thiago Silva & Hector Lombard Sign For Eagle FC

Eagle FCKhabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC has announced three new high-profile signings. On Wednesday, ESPN confirmed that former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos had inked a deal with the promotion. He’ll make his opposite Yorgan De Castro on May 20.  It was also revealed that Thiago Silva had signed with Eagle FC and would be making […]

Eagle FC

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC has announced three new high-profile signings.

On Wednesday, ESPN confirmed that former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos had inked a deal with the promotion. He’ll make his opposite Yorgan De Castro on May 20. 

It was also revealed that Thiago Silva had signed with Eagle FC and would be making his debut on the same night in the co-main event against Hector Lombard.

Dos Santos suffered four consecutive knockout losses before being released by the UFC in 2021. The Brazilian was expected to make his first post-UFC appearance at Triller Triad Combat 2 against Kubrat Pulev on February 26 but the event was called off due to concerns about COVID-19.

Lombard will be returning to MMA for the first time in six years when he squares off against Silva in May. The Bellator champion hasn’t competed in the sport since suffering a decision loss to Thales Leites in September 2018, his sixth straight defeat. Lombard has been more active and more successful in bare-knuckle boxing as of late.

Silva exited the UFC in October 2013 following a unanimous decision win over Matt Hamill. Since then, he’s fought for numerous MMA promotions and has been pretty inconsistent with his performances. Silva is currently riding a two-fight losing streak and hasn’t fought since May 2019.

Eagle FC Keep Signing UFC Veterans

Khabib’s approach to acquiring talent seems very clear at this point. The lightweight legend appears to be picking up UFC veterans who have a big name. Diego Sanchez, Kevin Lee, Rashad Evans, Ray Borg, Impa Kasanganay, and Irwin Rivera are just some of the names already signed for Eagle FC.

Will you be watching Eagle FC 20 on May 20 after hearing Junior dos Santos, Thiago Silva and Hector Lombard will be competing on the card?

Junior dos Santos, Héctor Lombard, Thiago Silva Sign With Eagle FC

Former UFC standouts Junior dos Santos, Héctor Lombard, and Thiago Silva have found a new MMA home at Eagle FC. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the news of dos Santos’ signing, while Silva and Lombard’s deals were announced at a recent Eagle FC news conference. dos Santos was supposed to face Kubrat…

Continue Reading Junior dos Santos, Héctor Lombard, Thiago Silva Sign With Eagle FC at MMA News.

Former UFC standouts Junior dos Santos, Héctor Lombard, and Thiago Silva have found a new MMA home at Eagle FC.

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the news of dos Santos’ signing, while Silva and Lombard’s deals were announced at a recent Eagle FC news conference.

dos Santos was supposed to face Kubrat Pulev in a boxing match at Triller Triad Combat before the fight was called off on short notice. dos Santos hasn’t competed in MMA since four-straight losses to end his UFC tenure.

dos Santos’ last MMA win came against Derrick Lewis in March 2019. After winning three in a row, a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou would prove to be the beginning of the end to dos Santos’ time in the Octagon.

dos Santos is tentatively scheduled to make his Eagle FC debut against another UFC veteran, Yorgan De Castro in May. De Castro won his promotional debut against Shaun Asher in January.

dos Santos will be joined by Lombard and Silva in his next MMA venture. Lombard has competed in bare-knuckle boxing over his past four fights in BKFC and last competed in MMA in September 2018.

Lombard is also looking to bounce back after six-straight losses to wrap up his time in the UFC. Lombard will compete in the Eagle FC light heavyweight division.

Joining Lombard at 205 pounds will be Silva, who has competed in brief stints in KSW and ACB. He’s won five of his last nine MMA fights, with his most recent win coming against former The Ultimate Fighter standout James McSweeney.

Eagle FC continues to make gains in the MMA landscape. The promotion landed former UFC interim title challenger Kevin Lee along with UFC pioneer Diego Sanchez, who will compete in the Eagle FC 46 main event this weekend.

What are your thoughts on these additions, including Junior Dos Santos, by Eagle FC?

Continue Reading Junior dos Santos, Héctor Lombard, Thiago Silva Sign With Eagle FC at MMA News.

Junior Dos Santos Sends Message Of Support To Cain Velasquez

Junior dos SantosJunior dos Santos is the latest MMA fighter to voice his support for Cain Velasquez who is currently facing more than 20 years in jail after being charged with attempted murder. Dos Santos thrice shared the Octagon with Velasquez who, earlier this week, was arrested and charged with attempted murder along with nine other offences, following […]

Junior dos Santos

Junior dos Santos is the latest MMA fighter to voice his support for Cain Velasquez who is currently facing more than 20 years in jail after being charged with attempted murder.

Dos Santos thrice shared the Octagon with Velasquez who, earlier this week, was arrested and charged with attempted murder along with nine other offences, following an incident that occurred in San Jose.

The former UFC heavyweight champion allegedly fired a handgun into a truck occupied by Harry Goularte Jr along with two other people one of those being Goularte’s stepfather.

Goularte Jr was recently charged with molesting a close relative of Velasquez. The bullet struck Goularte’s stepfather however he is expected to survive the incident.

Velasquez is also accused of ramming his truck into the vehicle the suspected pedophile was occupying after chasing it down for 11 miles in what has been described as a high-speed car chase.

Junior dos Santos Wants To See His Old Rival Released From Jail

“As combat opponents we shared the dream of winning and becoming the number one. Today as parents, the victory we want to achieve is the well-being and security of our families,” dos Santos wrote on social media.

“There is still a lot to be revealed and investigated about this situation that Cain Velasquez is involved in. But until then I believe any honest parent would do the same if they were in his shoes. May justice be done and Cain can be where he belongs to be with his family as soon as possible. #freeCain #IstandwithCain”

Do you agree with Junior dos Santos? Did Cain Velasquez do what any parent would’ve done in that situation?

Junior dos Santos On The UFC: “They Don’t Care About Anybody”

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos ripped the UFC for how they handled the final days and months of his tenure.

dos Santos is slated to face Kubrat Pulev at an upcoming Triller Triad Combat event next month. He was released by the UF…

Junior dos Santos

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos ripped the UFC for how they handled the final days and months of his tenure.

dos Santos is slated to face Kubrat Pulev at an upcoming Triller Triad Combat event next month. He was released by the UFC last year after a string of losses and alleged tensions with the brass and Dana White.

During a recent interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, dos Santos revealed how he and the UFC split with a fractured relationship.

“They are businessmen, they are good at doing that,” dos Santos said. “They don’t care about anybody, they care about making money and that’s it. I’m thankful for everything that happened to me and my career. When I took my last two fights they said ‘you take or you’re out’. After this last fight what he [Gane] did wasn’t legal. After that, the UFC called me with a fight on 20 days’ notice and I was like, ‘I just fought I can’t fight’. If you can’t fight, then you’re out. They do business and they don’t build anything for athletes and our careers. I was treated like that and they were trying to drain everything that I had, everything that I was so that they could keep everything for them.”

Some fans of dos Santos are concerned about this next chapter of his combat sports career. His next opponent, Pulev has an astounding 28-2 boxing record while dos Santos is making his boxing debut on the Triad Combat card.

dos Santos challenged for the UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 211 but fell via first-round knockout. He would go on to win three straight before slumping with four straight defeats.

dos Santos isn’t the only former UFC fighter to allege wrongdoing by the promotion. Fighters such as former champions Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva have also criticized how the promotion conducts their business in the past.

For now, it appears that dos Santos is hell-bent on success in Triller, but his MMA future remains uncertain.

What do you think about Junior dos Santos’ allegations against the UFC?

Continue Reading Junior dos Santos On The UFC: “They Don’t Care About Anybody” at MMA News.

Junior dos Santos Reassures Concerned Fans Before Boxing Debut

Junior dos Santos is ecstatic to get in the ring with vicious European boxer Kubrat Pulev for his debut boxing match.

Although the former UFC heavyweight champion dos Santos ended his contract with the UFC on a four-fight loss streak in March 202…

Junior Dos Santos

Junior dos Santos is ecstatic to get in the ring with vicious European boxer Kubrat Pulev for his debut boxing match.

Although the former UFC heavyweight champion dos Santos ended his contract with the UFC on a four-fight loss streak in March 2021, his love for the sport of fighting remains intact.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

However, fans of Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos are worried the fighter might be biting off a bit more than he can chew. His very first opponent, Kubrat “Cobra” Pulev, holds a professional boxing record of 28 wins and 2 losses, was the European heavyweight champion twice between 2012 and 2016, and recently destroyed mixed martial artist Frank Mir by first-round TKO at the first Triller Triad event.

In a recent interview with ESPN, dos Santos expressed his gratitude for the fans’ concern but has a message for them:

“Well, for all of those, I (know there will be) some bad comments but also some comments coming from people that believe in me and support me. And like you said, they will be worried about me, you know? But I appreciate that. Thank you for the comments and for the worry. But you know what? This time, I took to myself and to my family to think about everything, decide what to do. Man, I’m 37 years old now, and I was feeling like—I was thinking about stopping. Maybe it’s not for me anymore. But that’s not my truth.”

Despite the defeats and controversial departure from the UFC, “Cigano” is happy and doing what he loves. Now that the spark of joy is once again within him, we could see an improved version of dos Santos when he steps in the ring.

Goodbye UFC, Hello Triller Triad

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The end of February marks the beginning of Junior dos Santos’ boxing career with Triller at Triad Combat II.

dos Santos wants fans to understand that his exit from the UFC was crucial. The fighter blames the promotion’s “unprofessionalism” for hindering his success within the platform but does not allow the situation to negatively impact his goals.

“My truth is I love this thing, and I still can do it. I’m 37 years old, like I said. If you go to the gym and see me training, man, I’m getting better, with some great skills every time. So the moments I was going through right now in the UFC, that’s not me. This fight now will show all those people, all the people that support or those who doesn’t support, this fight will show everybody who I am for real,” he continued in the interview with ESPN.

Lest we forget dos Santos has wins against Derrick Lewis and Stipe Miocic, two renowned names in the heavyweight division, in his MMA career. Now, it will be former heavyweight champion vs former heavyweight champion when dos Santos’ boxing debut commences.

Are you excited to see Junior dos Santos’ boxing debut?

Continue Reading Junior dos Santos Reassures Concerned Fans Before Boxing Debut at MMA News.

Junior dos Santos To Return Against Kubrat Pulev On Triad Combat Card

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will fight Kubrat Pulev in early 2022 at an upcoming Triller Triad Combat event.

TMZ Sports was the first to report dos Santos’ return.

This will be dos Santos’ first MMA competition of any kind …

Junior Dos Santos

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will fight Kubrat Pulev in early 2022 at an upcoming Triller Triad Combat event.

TMZ Sports was the first to report dos Santos’ return.

This will be dos Santos’ first MMA competition of any kind since being released by the UFC earlier this year. Before parting ways with the promotion, he had lost four-straight fights against the likes of Ciryl Gane and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

The Triad Combat format puts MMA fighters up against boxers under a special ruleset. Former UFC fighters such as Mike Perry and Frank Mir competed on the format’s inaugural card last month.

dos Santos will face a tough task in Pulev, who most recently knocked out Mir in a quick fashion. Before that, the Bulgarian boxer had lost to heavyweight star Anthony Joshua late last year.

Junior dos Santos Returns To Fighting After Long Layoff

dos Santos has teased a return to the fight game for months and was interested in being the opponent for Fedor Emelianenko’s Bellator return. The promotion ended up pairing Emelianenko with Tim Johnson, whom he defeated by a vicious knockout.

In addition to his contributions inside the Octagon this year, dos Santos was part of the special commentary team for the Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort Triller Fight Club event. He sat alongside former U.S. President Donald Trump and UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal.

dos Santos is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweights in UFC history. He earned the heavyweight belt over Cain Velasquez in 2011 before trading wins and losses inside the Octagon.

dos Santos also earned wins over the likes of Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis during his time with the promotion.

What do you think about Junior dos Santos’ return to fighting?

Continue Reading Junior dos Santos To Return Against Kubrat Pulev On Triad Combat Card at MMA News.