Junior dos Santos Eyes UFC Gold and Deontay Wilder Next
Heavyweight mixed martial artist Junior dos
Santos will face a lofty challenge this Saturday when he meets
fellow big-man Francis
"The Predator" Ngannou in the Octagon for
UFC on ESPN 3 in Minneapolis.
A possible title shot is on the line for the heavyweight headliners and dos Santos is averaging as a +200 underdog against the feared puncher from Cameroon. But "Cigano" has won his last three in a row, besting top fighters like Blagoy Ivanov, Tai Tuivasa, and most notably, Derrick Lewis.
With a 21-5 professional MMA record, the former champ, at only 35
years old, feels poised for greatness, not only in MMA, but in
boxing as well. Dos Santos recently revealed his lofty plans to
MMA Fighting, starting with Ngannou and ending with one of the
most famous heavyweight boxers of the day.
"I will do everything to win [against Ngannou] and then move onto the title shot," dos Santos said. "Now my biggest goal is to go back, fight for the title in the UFC, take the belt back and then start promoting a fight against one of the boxing champions."
The boxing champion in question is none other than Deontay Wilder, the undefeated heavyweight powerhouse with terrifying knockout prowess. "I think and I already have this idea in my mind who it could be. It could be Deontay Wilder because everything I see about Deontay, he's a great champion, he knocks everybody out and he doesn't run away from a good match," said the Brazilian.
"I've been watching him for a long time. I actually admire him. His boxing skills are different but I think that's the perfect match for me. I can see many, many holes in his game. Can you imagine I'm not worrying about no takedowns, no kicks, no jiu-jitsu, only boxing. That would be paradise for me," mused dos Santos.
"Cigano" meets Ngannou this Saturday, June 29, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The entire night of fights will air live on ESPN starting at 6 p.m. ET.
A possible title shot is on the line for the heavyweight headliners and dos Santos is averaging as a +200 underdog against the feared puncher from Cameroon. But "Cigano" has won his last three in a row, besting top fighters like Blagoy Ivanov, Tai Tuivasa, and most notably, Derrick Lewis.
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"I will do everything to win [against Ngannou] and then move onto the title shot," dos Santos said. "Now my biggest goal is to go back, fight for the title in the UFC, take the belt back and then start promoting a fight against one of the boxing champions."
The boxing champion in question is none other than Deontay Wilder, the undefeated heavyweight powerhouse with terrifying knockout prowess. "I think and I already have this idea in my mind who it could be. It could be Deontay Wilder because everything I see about Deontay, he's a great champion, he knocks everybody out and he doesn't run away from a good match," said the Brazilian.
"I've been watching him for a long time. I actually admire him. His boxing skills are different but I think that's the perfect match for me. I can see many, many holes in his game. Can you imagine I'm not worrying about no takedowns, no kicks, no jiu-jitsu, only boxing. That would be paradise for me," mused dos Santos.
"Cigano" meets Ngannou this Saturday, June 29, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The entire night of fights will air live on ESPN starting at 6 p.m. ET.
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