The heavyweight title is back on the line next week in Dallas with a highly anticipated rematch.
In the UFC 211 main event, heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) takes on former champ Junior Dos Santos (18-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC). Miocic currently is a small betting favorite over the Brazilian at -135; the comeback on “JDS” is +105.
UFC 211 takes place May 13 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
The headliner will be a rematch for Miocic of his most recent loss, which went to Dos Santos by unanimous decision after five “Fight of the Night” rounds at UFC on FOX 13 in Phoenix in December 2014. Although most of the MMA media outlets tracked by MMADecisions.com scored the fight for Dos Santos, a handful scored it for Miocic.
After that loss, Miocic knocked out Mark Hunt in the fifth round and former champ Andrei Arlovski in just 54 seconds to get a crack at Fabricio Werdum and the title. And at UFC 198 nearly a year ago, he stopped Werdum in the first round in hostile territory in Brazil to win the belt. He defended it this past September at UFC 203 in front of his home fans in Cleveland.
Dos Santos has been far less active. He had a year off after his win over Miocic, and in his returned was knocked out by Alistair Overeem at UFC on FOX 17 in December 2015. A little more than a year ago, he got back in the win column with a dominant unanimous decision over Ben Rothwell in Croatia. He was expected to fight Stefan Struve in Canada in February, but a Struve injury scrapped that fight and instead, Dos Santos was pulled from the card and got the title fight against Miocic.
Ahead of the rematch, take a look back at their first five-round battle from two and a half years ago. Check out the photo highlights in the video above, as well as the gallery below.
And for more on UFC 211, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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