Junior dos Santos is looking forward to competing on the first
MMA card broadcast by Netflix. | Getty/UFC
Junior dos
Santos will face a tall task — literally — when he meets the
6-foot-7 Robelis
Despaigne on the
Most Valuable Promotions “Rousey vs. Carano” card on May
16.
“Cigano” recently spoke with Sherdog.com about the challenges
presented by the Olympic taekwondo bronze medalist and current
Karate Combat heavyweight champion.
“Robelis is a good fight and a great challenge. He comes from
taekwondo, he’s very fast, has dangerous kicks, straight punches
and I have my background in boxing, so it´s going to be an
interesting clash of styles,” dos Santos said.
Dos Santos revealed that 6-foot-8 former
Professional Fighters League champion Renan
Ferreira has been a primary training partner in preparation for
Despaigne.
“The training sessions are intense here with Renan ‘Problema,’ who
is even taller than Despaigne. He should also be fighting soon, so
he’s helping me a lot in this camp,” dos Santos said.
Boxing in the Future?
“Cigano” has never hidden his dream of fighting in boxing after his
MMA career. With Netflix promoting events in both disciplines, the
Brazilian is eager to try his hand at boxing at the next Netflix
event.
“I’m very happy with this invitation from Netflix,” he said.
“Combat sports needed a movement like this. This is where I wanted
to be, and I’m sure the event will be a huge success not only
because of the great fights but also because of the impressive
audience they already had in boxing will be certainly repeated now
in MMA. And I’m available to fight in both formats.”