Junior dos Santos To Compete On Brazil's 'Dancing With The Stars'

Junior dos Santos is known for his excellent footwork in the Octagon; now he’ll get to show whether those skills carry over to the dance floor.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion is taking a break from the cage, as according to MMA Fighting, dos Santos will be part of the upcoming season of the Brazilian version of “Dancing with the Stars,” which starts Aug. 25.

This is not the first time an MMA fighter has shown off his or her dancing skills on DWTS. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell was the first to break the ice, taking part in the show back in 2009. Afterwards, former UFC and Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was part of 2012’s Brazilian edition of the show. However, nobody did better than UFC flyweight Paige VanZant, who reached the finals in 2016 and finished in second place.

Last time dos Santos (21-6) danced inside the Octagon, he lost to Francis Ngannou via TKO in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 3 encounter. Prior to that, “Cigano” had been on a three-bout winning streak, defeating Blagoy Ivanov, Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis.