Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum are set to face each other in a rematch at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA, nearly 15 years after their first UFC encounter, with dos Santos feeling little has changed and expressing confidence despite acknowledging Werdum’s grappling skill set.
Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum are set to go face to face nearly 15 years after their initial meeting in UFC. According to Santos, also known as “Cigano”, he doesn’t believe much has changed when compared to their first encounter. In the first match, Santos was an octagon newcomer; however, he was able to knock out Werdum, referred to as “Vai Cavalo”, who was an experienced favorite at the time. This happened during UFC 90, hosted in Rosemont, IL, marking the beginning of Santos’ significant run towards the UFC belt. Following this, Werdum left UFC and joined Strikeforce. He returned to UFC after several years and secured the UFC gold.
Their rematch will take place on Friday night at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA. This time around, Werdum returns to the ring after hinting at retirement post his brief stint with the PFL. Werdum seems to be in excellent form for the fight, a fact not ignored by Santos. However, Santos expressed no concern about the possibility of doping in this encounter. The conversation on the matter, he shared laughingly, led to the conclusion that muscles held little weight when compared to the chin. Reflecting on the years of his career, Santos commented on the nuances and complexities of the fighting world, serving to be a great learning experience.
Werdum, throughout his career, has never had run-ins with doping controversies before or after his partnership with United States Anti-Doping Agency. Similarly, Santos was cleared in 2018 by the USADA after their investigation proved that a positive result he had achieved a year prior was due to a tainted supplement. Santos revealed that he initially declined the offer to compete at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA against Roy Nelson. However, after further research, he is now “pretty excited” as it is a different game he has never played before. He described the difference between regular MMA and Bareknuckle MMA as “not much different except for a little more blood”.
According to Santos, no gloves may offer an advantage to Werdum given his background in grappling. However, Santos is confident in his hands and believes they will lead him to victory in Jacksonville, Fla. He expects Werdum to be better prepared and adopt a more strategic approach this time, with an aim to avoid exposing himself too much. In summary, despite the heightened expectations and slight shift in fighting format, Santos believes he will emerge victorious just like he did during their first encounter.