Junior dos Santos is frustrated.
The former UFC heavyweight champion was planning on returning to action in February against Stefan Struve in hopes of keeping his spot warm as a top contender in the division.
When an injury knocked Struve from the main event bout, “Cigano” targeted a fight with Fabricio Werdum, who is currently without a fight scheduled.
While it would seem like a perfect fit, there is one hold up, according to dos Santos.
“The right thing now would be for me to fight Werdum,” dos Santos said in an interview with ESPN. “Everybody knows there is a rivalry between us. That would be a great moment for everybody, but he doesn’t want the fight.”
Back in 2008, dos Santos made his UFC debut in thrilling fashion, finishing Werdum in just 80 seconds at UFC 90. He would go on to win his first nine Octagon fights, including the belt in 2011 with a first round finish of Cain Velasquez.
Dos Santos last fought in April when he topped Ben Rothwell via decision, improving to 18-4 overall.
“(Werdum) knows he can’t have a good performance against me,” dos Santos said. “I imagine he wants to keep his high rank, because then people will give him attention he really doesn’t deserve. I hope the UFC finds me an opponent for February 19, but if they don’t, I think the right thing would be me fighting (Stipe) Miocic for the title. Let’s get this division going.”
