Junior Dos Santos Out Of UFC Fight Night: Moscow Main Event

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos is not expected to make his November date with Alexander Volkov.

According to a report by RT Sport, dos Santos has been in the hospital due to a bacterial infection that affected his leg. The Brazilian has undergone a couple of procedures to reduce swelling by inserting a drain and removing it.

The card takes place November 9 from the CSKA Arena in Moscow, Russia. At this time, the UFC has not officially declared dos Santos out or found a replacement.

Dos Santos’ most recent social media post came on Monday when he tweeted a picture of himself with the words “A true champion is defined by his actions, not his words.”

As recently as October 18, there was a post on his official page indicating he was still very much set to face Volkov in Russia.

The 35-year-old dos Santos had his three-fight win streak snapped in June at the hands of Francis Ngannou. That bout was stopped in the first round by Ngannou when he unloaded on the Brazilian.

Prior to the setback, though, “Cigano” had downed Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa and Blagoy Ivanov. In 2017, he was finished in the first round by Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title.

Overall, dos Santos is 21-6 in his career with 15 of those victories coming inside the Octagon.

Junior Dos Santos’ Top-5 Knockouts

Volkov had his seven-fight win streak snapped by Lewis last October. He was knocked out in the third round, marking his first stoppage defeat since 2013.

The Russian had opened his UFC run with wins over Timothy Johnson, Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve and former champion Fabricio Werdum. He won the vacant Bellator heavyweight title in 2012, but lost it in his first title defense to Vitaly Minakov.

Alexander Volkov Delivers Head-Kick KO

Below is the current UFC Fight Night 163 fight card:

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 163: MINAKOV VS. TBA

MAIN CARD (ESPN+)

Heavyweight Alexander Volkov vs. TBA

Featherweight: Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Calvin Kattar

Welterweight: Zelim Imadaev vs. Danny Roberts

Light Heavyweight: Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Ed Herman

Welterweight: Ramazan Emeev vs. Anthony Rocco Martin

Light Heavyweight: Shamil Gamzatov vs. Klidson Abreu

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+)

Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Dalhca Lungiambula

Welterweight: Rustam Khabilov vs. Sergey Khandozhko

Middleweight: Roman Kopylov vs. Karl Roberson

Welterweight: Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. David Zawada

Female Bantamweight: Pannie Kianzad vs. Jessica-Rose Clark

Bantamweight: Grigorli Popov vs. Davey Grant