Two former UFC heavyweight champions are set to run it back once again as Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum prepare to collide for a third time at Kings Championship on Aug. 8 in Florianopolis, Brazil.
This time, however, the rivalry is heading to the grappling mats instead of the cage.
The upcoming bout marks another chapter in a feud that stretches back nearly two decades. Their first meeting came in 2008 when a relatively unknown dos Santos shocked the MMA world by flattening Werdum in just over a minute.
Years later, the Brazilian heavyweights met again under bare-knuckle MMA rules in Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred promotion, where “Cigano” earned a hard-fought decision victory to move to 2-0 in the series.
While dos Santos has historically had the upper hand in fights, the switch to pure grappling could significantly favor Werdum.
Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished heavyweight grapplers in MMA history, Werdum owns elite credentials in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, including world titles at ADCC and IBJJF. The former UFC champion famously submitted Cain Velasquez to capture heavyweight gold in 2015.
Dos Santos, meanwhile, has remained the more active competitor in recent years. Following the 2023 rematch with Werdum, he picked up a knockout win over Alan Belcher before suffering a quick stoppage loss to Robelis Despaigne at MVP MMA earlier this year.