Dos Santos: Title shot vs. Miocic is 'the right thing to do'
Junior dos Santos wants to cement his place as the UFC heavyweight division's preeminent slugger - ideally with a belt on the line.
Now that a shoulder injury to Stefan Struve has left him without a dance partner, "Cigano" is back to campaigning for another meeting with division champ Stipe Miocic. Dos Santos politely posited a date with Miocic at UFC 208 before agreeing to meet Struve in Halifax, Nova Scotia in February. But with the heavyweight division in disarray, the former champion believes his case for a title shot is as solid as anyone's.
"The way I see it, the way the division is going now, the other guys who were supposed to be ready to fight for the title are (Fabricio) Werdum and (Cain) Velasquez," Dos Santos told FOX Sports' Damon Martin on Thursday. "Man, they are coming from a victory over Travis Browne, who is maybe not even in the top 10 anymore. So it doesn't make sense. The right thing to do right now is to give me the title shot.
"I already beat the champion. That's the fight for the UFC to make now. Me against him, fighting for the title no doubt. Everything is stopped right now and we need keep the division going. This is the most dangerous and exciting division in any martial arts sports so let's do it."
Dos Santos took a five-round, instantly classic slugfest over Miocic in December 2014, after which he suffered a TKO loss to Alistair Overeem and bested Ben Rothwell by unanimous decision. The champ, on the other hand, rebounded with a vengeance, mounting a four-fight win streak including first-round knockouts of Werdum and Overeem to win and defend the heavyweight strap, respectively.
The Brazilian has made his respect for Miocic plain as day, but if he has to prove his mettle is championship-caliber against the 34-year-old, then so be it.
"He's a great champion. I really like him because he's a fair fighter. I don't see him cheating or doing any crazy things. I see him as a good example to other fighters. But I have to tell you there is just one No. 1 in the world.
"There's just one heavyweight champion. Just one baddest man on the planet. And that one guy is myself."
Not only has Dos Santos anointed himself the rightful challenger to Miocic's strap, he deems a surefire barn burner with the champ far too intriguing a fight for the UFC's matchmakers to pass up.
"If I fight Miocic that's great, because it's the kind of fight that people love to see. He's a striker, I'm a striker and we're going to bang so it would be a very interesting fight."