HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos is looking for a fight, and it could be in the boxing ring.
Dos Santos was in attendance for 2021 PFL Playoffs 3 in Hollywood, Fla., and discussed his options going forward. The Brazilian last competed at UFC 256 against now-interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane, in a fight he lost via second-round TKO.
The loss marked the fourth in a row for the former champ, which led to his unceremonious exit from the UFC. Now, the Brazilian striker is carefully reviewing his options for the best move going forward, and according to him, there have been plenty of talks with many different organizations.
“We were talking with bare-knuckle (BKFC), Bellator, PFL, some boxing conversations as well,” Dos Santos told MMA Junkie recently. “I would love to do a boxing fight, but it’s hard to find heavyweights with enough courage to take a fight. These guys are just talking, but let’s see what’s gonna happen.
“I’m not in a rush. I’m enjoying my time and as soon as we have a good deal, we’re gonna move on. My next step is, and I feel like it’s an important step, I just don’t want to go ahead and do it. I want to do it right.”
Despite the recent losing skid, Dos Santos believes he still has plenty left in the tank and hasn’t lost the desire to compete. However, he admits that his focus wasn’t where it needed to be in recent outings.
“I really enjoy fighting,” Dos Santos said. “My goal today is to show all the people that support me all the time that I’m still here. I can perform well, I train very hard, and all my skills – actually, because of all my experience, I think that I’m now even a better fighter. But some things happened that didn’t go very well because my mind wasn’t 100 percent there.
“A lot of things changed in my life, so I am learning how to deal with them. … I think it’s normal, it’s part of the process. Unfortunately, I had some negative results, but I’m looking forward to the next step.”
If Dos Santos had his choice, he would love to take a boxing match next, but that would require a fellow heavyweight to sign a contract to step inside the ring with him. However, a return to MMA is not out of the picture as well, because that is where he made his name in combat sports.
Watch the full interview with Dos Santos in the video above.
Junior Dos Santos eyes a move to boxing, but heavyweights with ‘enough courage’ are hard to find