Junior Dos Santos is not ready to forget about gold.
The 36-year-old wants to reclaim what was once his – the UFC heavyweight title. Dos Santos (21-8 MMA, 15-7 UFC), who fights Ciryl Gane on Saturday’s UFC 256 main card, seeks a return to winning ways in hopes to making another run at the title.
The Brazilian was champion from 2011-12. He knocked out Cain Velasquez to get the title in late 2011, he then defended the belt against Frank Mir in May 2012, and the lost to the belt to Velasquez in a rematch in December 2012.
Since, Dos Santos has made two attempts to regain the title, but came up short twice – once in 2013 in a trilogy against Velasquez and another in 2017 in a rematch against current champion Stipe Miocic.
And although he’s 36 and coming off three consecutive stoppage defeats, Dos Santos aspires to become champion again.
“I’m trying to move things forward,” Dos Santos told reporters at the UFC 256 virtual media day Wednesday. “I can’t do anything to change the things of the past, but I can do a lot to change the things for my future.
“The last results from my fights weren’t very good, they were actually very bad. But now I’m trying to make a difference, to get a ‘W’ on Saturday and move forward in my career.”
Dos Santos is currently ranked No. 7 in the UFC’s official heavyweight rankings. He also remains one of the biggest names in the division. Yet, some might think his chances of fighting again for a UFC title remain slim. “Cigano” would like to think otherwise.
“We try to understand things that sometimes there’s something wrong because the result wasn’t there, it wasn’t expected, but man I feel great,” Dos Santos explained. “I was great on my last fights, and if you watch the fights, I was winning so at some point I got caught and my opponents got the victory.
“I keep working very hard on everything I do, even on my psychological side, but it’s a hard sport it’s hard to understand things. The best thing I can do is working hard, is believing in myself because for me, man, I can see everything is right there. Maybe even better than it was in the past.
“My performance is there, the power is there, the stamina is there, my will to become champion is there. I feel everything is right there. Of course, I’ll keep trying my best to turn things around and get back to my winning streak.”
Junior Dos Santos not giving up on reclaiming UFC title: ‘My will to become champion is there’
