Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos spent much of 2016 on the sidelines, fighting just once when he defeated Ben Rothwell back in April.
For “Cigano,” the opportunity to get back into the swing of things early in 2017 was his reason for accepting a bout with Stefan Struve. The two square off at UFC Fight Night from Halifax, Nova Scotia on February 19.
“What I wanted was to fight,” Dos Santos said during a recent interview with MMAjunkie. “So I was happy he took the fight. It’s not relevant at the moment, but there were some athletes who kind of turned it down, made up excuses not to fight. So I was happy he took the fight.”
Back in 2008, dos Santos (18-4) scored a 54-second finish vs. Struve. However, the Brazilian knows his foe is much-improved since that time.
“He’s coming off a good moment, good wins,” he said. “He’s right there around the top 10 and I’m sure it will be a great fight.”
Struve (28-8) has won three of his last four, including wins over former interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and one-time title contender Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. He also holds a 2012 finish vs. current UFC kingpin Stipe Miocic to his credit.
