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Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has found himself in another title fight at the ripe age of 40. As ‘Cigano’ makes the final preparations to take on fellow Octagon veteran Alan Belcher for the Gamebred MMA heavyweight belt, the Brazilian may be feeling more relaxed that ever before in his fighting career
The former UFC champ feels relaxed
In an interview with Combate (translated by Bloody Elbow), the former UFC champ revealed that he always had to deal with nerves during his career in the promotion where he fought for 12 years. Now that he has parted ways with Dana White and company, Cigano may be older and past his prime, but at least he does not feel like his anxiety will get in the way for the first time in his life.
“That’s what has always made my career harder. I have always been really anxious. I would be there to win fights, but with a lot of anxiety. At the end of my UFC career, I was there not to lose and anxiety and nerves were there, too. Nowadays, I don’t really care about winning or losing, I’m just there to fight. I’m finally enjoying it. In my last fight, for the first time in my career, I was only fighting my opponent and not myself.”
Junior dos Santos has recently won his first fight since 2019
In his last outing, Junior dos Santos (22-10) scored a split decision win in a rematch against fellow former UFC champ Fabricio Werdum, back in September 2023 at Gamebred Fighting Championship 5. The victory snapped a five-fight losing streak for the 40-year-old, who had suffered knockout defeats to Francis Ngannou, Curtis Blaydes, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Ciryl Gane and Yorgan de Castro.
Meanwhile, Alan Belcher (19-8) retired from MMA back in 2013, but has recently found success as a bare knuckle boxer, becoming the BKFC heavyweight champion by beating Arnold Adams back in February 2023 and bringin his record to a perfect 4-0. Since then, the 39-year-old decided to give MMA another chance and returned to the sport 10 years later to beat fellow UFC veteran Roy Nelson by split decision in November 2023.
Catch Dos Santos vs. Belcher on March 2
Now, Junior dos Santos is expected to take on Alan Belcher at Gamebred BareKnuckle MMA 7, on March 2, for the promotion’s heavyweight belt. The card is scheduled to take place in Orlando, Florida. The co-main event of the evening is also set to feature two former UFC athletes in Chase Sherman and Alex Nicholson.