Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will be looking to avenge defeat when he faces contender Junior Dos Santos at UFC 211 in a title defence.
“Cigano” took a unanimous decision victory over the American at UFC on Fox 13 handing him the second defeat of his career.
Both fighters received a change of fortune following the Brazilian’s win over the man of Croatian descent.
Four of the best for Miocic
Since the fight, Miocic has gone unbeaten, winning all four fights against household names of the heavyweight division. Wins over Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski, Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem have seen the Ohioan break into the top ten pound for pound rankings in the UFC, collecting the heavyweight title in the process.
A rematch with JDS will arguably be his toughest test since the loss. Whilst amassing wins over two higher ranked fighters since then, this will be a completely different fight for Stipe. A loss for a fighter can play on their mind and despite a perfect record since the blemish, it will be interesting to see how Miocic handles a fighter he knows had the better of him.
Quality over quantity for Dos Santos
Dos Santos has been rather inactive since the win over Miocic, having been in just two bouts since as opposed to the four fights that the heavyweight champion has had. That said, there is no faulting the quality of opposition that the Champion Team athlete has faced.
An impressive win over Miocic saw the 33-year-old climb the rankings in a bid for a title shot. He then fought top five contender Overeem in his pursuit of a title fight but suffered a technical knockout late in the second round. He maintained the level of competition when he fought fellow top five contender Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 86. Dos Santos beat Rothwell by unanimous decision which has now landed him the title shot he was after.
Repeat or vengeful defeat
This rematch gives the Strong Style Fight Team athlete an opportunity to prove once and for all, he is the best 265lb fighter on the planet. A defence of the title will be that bit more satisfying for Miocic as he can avenge one of the two defeats of his stellar career. Miocic, in the form he is, will undoubtedly be the favourite for the bout. However, we see many rematches where the previous victor wins even more convincingly.
A repeat of the first victory is exactly what Dos Santos will be after and the key to this will be his game-plan. We saw the Brazilian use counter-striking to its full potential in the first bout and we may see a repeat in tactics. It is well known that Miocic is one of the most lethal punchers in the UFC roster so to stand and trade with the champion would likely end in a loss for the contender. However, if he makes good on his occasional flurries of punches and counters on the back foot for the majority of the fight, we could see a similar success for “Cigano” and a new heavyweight champion.
