Stipe Miocic will next put his heavyweight championship on the line against Junior dos Santos at UFC 211.
The fight has been speculated for several days, but it now appears to be on the cusp of an official announcement. A report by Combate indicated that dos Santos was on tap to face Miocic on May 13 in Dallas. Multiple sources have since indicated that the fight was agreed to by both parties.
The rematch marks the second title defense for Miocic (16-2), who won the belt by knocking out Fabricio Werdum in the first round of their main event bout at UFC 198 in Brazil last May. He then defended the strap by doing the same to Alistair Overeem at UFC 203 in September.
Former champion dos Santos (18-4) was originally slated to face Stefan Struve at UFC Fight Night 105 on Feb. 19. That bout was canceled after Struve had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury. With Miocic awaiting his next bout and a dearth of pay-per-view headlining fights, the cancellation paved the way for a Miocic vs. dos Santos rematch.
The two first battled at UFC on FOX 13 in December of 2014. The unanimous decision fell to dos Santos’ favor in a Fight of the Night performance.
Miocic vs. dos Santos 2 is expected to headline the UFC 211 pay-per-view event at American Airlines Center.
