It looks like next month’s UFC Fight Night card in Halifax won’t be seeing Junior dos Santos in action. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title holder took to Twitter to reveal he is no longer a part of that event.
Check it out:
Unfortunately I'm out of that fight card Michael thank you very much for buying your ticket to see me fighting. https://t.co/RdskgHubVB
— Junior Dos Santos (@junior_cigano) January 21, 2017
“Cigano” was originally supposed to fight Stefan Struve in a rematch. Dos Santos earned a TKO win over “Skyscraper” back in Feb. 2009. The fight lasted just 54 seconds.
A torn labrum forced Struve to pull out and dos Santos was left without an opponent. At first, UFC officials were looking for a replacement. It appears they couldn’t find one who would agree to face “Cigano” on short notice.
There has been no word on what the planned main event will be for the card. It’s a tough break for dos Santos, who hasn’t competed since April 2016. He beat Ben Rothwell from pillar to post for five rounds in his last bout. It was the type of performance “Cigano” needed after suffering a TKO loss to Alistair Overeem.
After getting beat badly in the second and third bouts with Cain Velasquez, many have questioned if dos Santos will ever return to form. While his thrashing of Rothwell was a good sign, some are still skeptical.
The former champion remains confident that he’s going to climb the 265-pound mountain once again. He holds a knockout win over Fabricio Werdum from 2008 and a controversial decision victory over the reigning title holder Stipe Miocic.
Right now, there is no clear contender at heavyweight. Stipe just disposed of Overeem, Velasquez is out with an injury, and Werdum was knocked out by Miocic at UFC 198. It’ll be interesting to see if the UFC books a title eliminator between Werdum and dos Santos, or if they decide to give one of them a title shot.
The UFC Fight Night event is set for Feb. 19 inside the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
