The baddest man on the planet is set to make his return to the stage.
UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic (16-2) will defend his title on May 13 in Dallas against former champion Junior dos Santos (18-4), according to Combate.com. This is a rematch of their December 2014 bout, which was won by dos Santos by unanimous decision. But that was the fight in which Miocic had his coming out party, raising his stock in defeat against one of the best in the world.
Since his loss to JDS, Miocic, 34, has been on a tear. He has won four consecutive fights, all by knockout, against four all-time great heavyweights: Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski, Fabricio Werdum, and Alistair Overeem. In his last fight at UFC 203, Miocic made the first defense of his belt when he stopped Overeem late in the first round after being dropped very early on.
“Cigano”, 33, has split his last two fights since defeating Miocic. He followed up that win with a knockout loss to Overeem, but bounced back and looked like his vintage self in a dominant decision win over Ben Rothwell. Dos Santos looks to become a two-time heavyweight champion in this bout after he first lost his title to Cain Velasquez in their December 2012 rematch.
This seemed like the logical title fight to make due to the storyline behind it. It also became the clear-cut fight after Velasquez was forced to withdraw from his fight with Werdum at UFC 207, a presumed title eliminator bout. With a win, Cleveland’s own Miocic will look to tie the division record for title defenses with two.
