Junior Dos Santos will return to the cage in just over two month’s time, under Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC banner.
Dos Santos (21-9), 38, will be looking to snap a four-fight losing streak when he takes on Yorgan De Castro (8-3), 34, at Eagle FC’s May 20, 2022 event. Nurmagomedov announced the news while speaking with ESPN on Wednesday, following an initial report from Ag.Fight.
Dos Santos vs. De Castro will serve as the card’s main event.
A former UFC heavyweight champion, Dos Santos quickly shot to stardom upon entering the UFC in 2008. “Cigano” flattened Fabricio Werdum in his promotional debut, then went on a tear that included wins over Cro-Cop, Big Country, Stefan Struve, and Shane Carwin, among others.
That took the Brazilian heavyweight to a title fight with Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX 1, where he would capture the title in little over a minute, ushering in the FOX era.
Dos Santos would defend the belt once, against Frank Mir, before losing it back to Velasquez in the second fight of their trilogy. He’d also lose the rubber match, which once again had the title on the line, in 2013.
Another title shot, against Stipe Miocic, came in 2017; Dos Santos would fall via TKO. He’d win his next three fights — then fall into the aforementioned four-fight skid. All four losses came by way to TKO, after which Dos Santos was released by the promotion.
The release did not come without controversy: Dos Santos later alleged that the promotion cut him after turning down a short-notice fight with Marcin Tybura. Dos Santos was supposed to top the Triad Combat 2 card last month, however, the event ended up postponed.
De Castro, a fellow former UFC fighter, has won his first two fights since parting ways with the UFC. Most recently, in his Eagle FC debut, “The Mad Titan” submitted Shaun Asher.
Eagle FC’s May 20, 2022 card is expected to take place at the FLXcast Arena in Miami, Florida, and is set to stream live on the FLXcast app.
