UFC News: Junior Dos Santos says heavyweight division has "stopped", wants Werdum fight
What’s the story?
The former UFC heavyweight kingpin Junior Dos Santos is currently in a limbo. He was scheduled to fight Stefan ‘Skyscraper’ Struve at UFC Fight Night 105 in February. However, the dutchman suffered an injury and was forced to pull out. Struve’s injury has left the Brazilian without an opponent.
According to Mmamania.com, ‘Cigano’ recently gave an interview to ESPN, in which he revealed that he wants Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum to replace the injured, Struve. He also revealed that he believes that the UFC’s entire heavyweight division has completely stopped. He was quoted stating the following:
“I'm just really upset about everything happening in this division right now, It's completely stopped. I'm in shape. I'm doing very well. I'm actually in one of the best times of my life. I'm looking forward to fighting again, but the UFC is allowing these guys to do whatever they want to do.”
In case you didn’t know...
The 32 year old Brazilian JDS and “Vai Cavalo” have locked horns before at UFC 90 in 2008. JDS got the better off Werdum back then. He won the fight via knockout due to punches in just 80 seconds of the first round. Since then JDS has often called out Werdum for a rematch.
The heart of the matter
‘Cigano’ believes that him fighting the 39 year old is the right decision. Since, Wedum’s rematch against Cain Velasquez at UFC 207 fell apart. Thus, he feels that the only logical fight to make in the heavyweight division will be the two Brazilians having their rematch. However, Werdum’s reluctance to fight JDS has prompted him to claim that “Vai Cavalo” is afraid of fighting him.
What next?
JDS is still waiting for the UFC to find him an opponent for the upcoming Fight Night. The UFC are desperate to keep him on the fight card of that event. However, their attempts to find a replacement for Struve have not yet been successful. Werdum’s next fight is also currently undecided.
Sportskeeda’s take
‘Cigano’ has correctly claimed that the entire heavyweight division has stopped. Most of the top heavyweights have not been in action. Miocic is taking some time off. Cain is injured whereas Fabrico and JDS don’t have any opponents to face. Since no other top heavyweight contender is currently available. The logical fight to make is Werdum vs. JDS in a rematch. However, Werdum is allegedly reluctant to fight JDS. It’s still to be seen how the UFC deals with this dilemma.