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Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff Writer
Two of the top UFC heavyweights of their generation will meet in a rematch – in an unexpected setting.
Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum, both Brazilian-born former UFC heavyweight champions, will fight each other in bareknuckle mixed martial arts Sept. 8 in Jacksonville, Florida under the banner of Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA, sources confirmed Friday with ESPN.
Dos Santos and Werdum first met in the UFC in 2008 with dos Santos winning by first-round knockout.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani was the first to report the news as official Friday. Dos Santos’ coach Conan Silveira first mentioned the fight in an interview with Sherdog earlier this month.
Dos Santos, 39, last fought in May 2022 for Eagle FC, losing via TKO due to a shoulder injury. He departed the UFC in 2020. “Cigano” was the UFC heavyweight champion in 2011 and 2012.
Werdum, 45, was UFC heavyweight champion in 2015 and 2016. He ended legend Fedor Emelianenko‘s decade-long unbeaten streak under the Strikeforce banner in 2010 and is considered one of the best heavyweight grapplers ever. “Vai Cavalo” has not fought since a run with PFL in 2021.