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Tag: junior dos santos

  • UFC Legends Junior dos Santos And Fabricio Werdum Running It Back Again In Trilogy Clash on August 8

    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.

  • Gina Carano Weighed Heavier Than Ronda Rousey On Fight Night Despite Being Lighter At Weigh-Ins

    Gina Carano Weighed Heavier Than Ronda Rousey On Fight Night Despite Being Lighter At Weigh-Ins

    Gina Carano weighed 10 pounds more on fight night than she did at the official weigh-ins, coming in at 152 pounds after tipping the scale at 141.4 the day before Saturday’s MVP MMA 1 main event.

    Ronda Rousey, by contrast, gained just one pound overnight, going from 142 to 143. The California State Athletic Commission provided the full fight night weights to MMA Junkie, with CSAC executive director Andy Foster supplying the list.

    The size difference proved irrelevant as Rousey submitted Carano with her signature armbar in 17 seconds to win the Netflix headliner at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

    The largest rehydration on the card came from Namo Fazil, who went from 170.8 pounds at the weigh-ins to 198 on fight night — a 27-pound swing.

    Full MVP MMA 1 fight night weights:

    • Ronda Rousey: 142 to 143 pounds
    • Gina Carano: 141.4 to 152 pounds
    • Nate Diaz: 168.6 to 184.6 pounds
    • Mike Perry: 169.6 to 181.4 pounds
    • Francis Ngannou: 257 to 258.6 pounds
    • Philipe Lins: 220.6 to 221 pounds
    • Salahdine Parnasse: 154.8 to 169 pounds
    • Kenneth Cross: 155.4 to 168.4 pounds
    • Junior Dos Santos: 245.4 to 249.8 pounds
    • Robelis Despaigne: 258.8 to 263.2 pounds
    • Namo Fazil: 170.8 to 198 pounds
    • Jake Babian: 171 to 186.8 pounds
    • Adriano Moraes: 129 to 138.4 pounds
    • Phumi Nkuta: 130 to 143.4 pounds
    • Jason Jackson: 170.8 to 182.6 pounds
    • Jefferson Creighton: 168.2 to 184.6 pounds
    • David Mgoyan: 145.2 to 158.8 pounds
    • Albert Morales: 143.8 to 158.6 pounds
    • Aline Pereira: 128 to 142.4 pounds
    • Jade Masson-Wong: 129.2 to 141.6 pounds
    • Chris Avila: 164 to 175.6 pounds
    • Brandon Jenkins: 164.2 to 179.2 pounds
  • Junior Dos Santos Broke His Silence After His MVP MMA 1 Knockout And Had A Revealing Message

    Junior Dos Santos Broke His Silence After His MVP MMA 1 Knockout And Had A Revealing Message

    Junior dos Santos has confirmed he was hospitalized following his brutal knockout loss to Robelis Despaigne at MVP MMA 1 on Saturday night, the first-ever MMA fight to air on Netflix.

    Dos Santos posted a video on Instagram in Portuguese addressing his condition and the knockout itself.

    “Yesterday, I went to the hospital after that strike I took right to the face. The boy hits hard. I didn’t see anything. People are asking, ‘Did it hurt?’ Did it hurt? What are you talking about? I didn’t feel a thing, man. You just fall asleep.”

    The 42-year-old former UFC heavyweight champion was cleared by doctors before flying home from California on Sunday. He said he planned to reflect more on the fight once he returned home.

    “Tomorrow I’ll be back at home, and then I’ll talk a little bit about how it went and the fight itself because I was feeling good, you know? Good, but somehow I wasn’t quite there. Very strange, very strange.”

    He also touched on the subject of age with a degree of uncertainty.

    “I think I’m getting old. No, I’m not, but anyway, let’s see.”

    The knockout was the ninth of Dos Santos’ career. He entered the fight with a 21-10 record and had spoken earlier in the week about wanting to build a long-term future with Most Valuable Promotions. Despaigne called out Francis Ngannou immediately after the finish, setting up what appears to be the most logical next step for MVP MMA’s heavyweight division.

  • ‘Eviscerated’ – Robelis Despaigne Brutalizes Junior Dos Santos

    ‘Eviscerated’ – Robelis Despaigne Brutalizes Junior Dos Santos

    Robelis Despaigne scored yet another first-round finish, getting perhaps the biggest win of his career with a first-round finish of Junior dos Santos at MVP MMA.

    Despaigne came out aggressive, taking the center and connecting strong and early. Dos Santos, however, got his own shots in, dropping him briefly with a leg kick and trying to pressure Despaigne.

    A three-punch combination landed perfectly, however, and it was enough to bloody and knock out the former UFC heavyweight champion.

    Robelis Despaigne KOs Junior Dos Santos At MVP MMA

    Despaigne now improves to 6-2 in professional MMA, with six finishes. This was Despaigne’s first MMA fight since losing to Austen Lane in 2024. Despaigne knocked out Sam Alvey in December to become Karate Combat heavyweight champion.

    JDS competed in his first MMA fight tonight since his loss to Yorgan De Castro in Eagle FC in 2022. He competed in a pair of bare-knuckle MMA fights since, defeating Fabricio Werdum and Alan Belcher.

  • Junior Dos Santos Has A Clear Plan For What He Wants From MVP MMA

    Junior Dos Santos Has A Clear Plan For What He Wants From MVP MMA

    Junior Dos Santos says he wants to be part of MVP MMA’s long-term future and believes Saturday’s Netflix debut event puts him in the right place at the right time.

    Dos Santos, 42, faces Robelis Despaigne in the opening bout of Saturday’s main card at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Speaking to reporters Wednesday ahead of an open workout, he framed the fight as the start of something bigger.

    “After I’ve been seeing what MVP has been doing, especially with the boxing thing and now with the MMA thing, I told myself I’ve got to be there. You see the power of the words, the power of when you put the right energy on things, things happen. I’m here now and I’m looking forward to the future with this company. When I see even Francis Ngannou here, there’s so many possibilities in this promotion, and I’m happy with that.”

    Dos Santos has not scored a knockout in over two years, and went five years without one before that. He said the matchup with Despaigne was put together with the intention of producing fireworks.

    “He’s a big guy — very fast, actually, for how big he is, and he kicks very hard. He has some good punches, and I’m ready for that. People have been saying that his ground game is not that good, and I’m always looking for the knockout. I know MVP knows what they are doing — why they put me against him: two strikers. They want to see knockouts.”

    The former UFC heavyweight champion also noted the significance of opening the first ever Netflix MMA main 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 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?

  • Archives: Tuivasa Rips ‘Steroid-Injecting Muppet’ Junior dos Santos (2018)

    Recently, Tai Tuivasa expressed his shock that Carlos Felipe got flagged for steroid use. To quote the bewildered Aussie, “How did he get done for steroids? He’s fat as shit!”

    But when it came to Junior dos Santos four years ago, Tuivasa had no trouble believing that JDS was a cheater. And in response to some criticisms from dos Santos, Tuivasa decided to share that belief with the world.

    The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

    [ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 25, 2018, 4:50 PM]

    Headline: Tai Tuivasa Rips ‘Steroid-Injecting Muppet’ Junior dos Santos

    Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.

    Tai Tuivasa has fired back at Junior dos Santos.

    Tuivasa and dos Santos will collide on Dec. 2 in the main event of UFC Adelaide. The action will take place inside the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Australia. It’s a huge opportunity for Tuivasa, who is the 11th ranked UFC heavyweight, while dos Santos sits at the seventh spot.

    Tai Tuivasa Slams JDS Over Recent Comments

    In a recent interview, dos Santos made an odd remark about Tuivasa. He criticized “Bam Bam” for having UFC announcer Bruce Buffer say he represents street fighting. The harsh and bizarre critique prompted Tuivasa to blast dos Santos in a recent interview with Sporting News:

    “I was giving him credit for being a great, but he can go f**k himself now, Just because of what Bruce Buffer said? As if I’m gonna say I’m a black belt or something. Calling someone a coward is a bit shallow from a steroid injecting little muppet like that. He can say whatever he wants to say, as long he brings it. It’s all gonna happen anyway, regardless of what any of us says. But to be calling someone a coward is shallow coming from a cheater. Make sure you’re not juiced up.”

    UFC Adelaide will also see Mark Hunt look to rebound from his submission loss to Aleksei Oleinik last month. To do so, he’ll need to get past Justin Willis, who has gone 3-0 inside the Octagon.

    Do you think Junior dos Santos is reaching with his criticism of Tai Tuivasa?

  • 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 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?

  • 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 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

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is pjimage-4.jpg

    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?

  • 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 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?