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By Matthew Wells



At UFC 211 on May 13, heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic will square off against Junior dos Santos in a rematch of their incredible bout from 2014.



In the first meeting, an epic five-round, bonus-earning affair, Junior dos Santos emerged from the contest with his hand raised by way of the judges' scorecards. That moment sparked a change in Miocic, who hit the gym harder, honed his skills, and soaked in the lessons learned from the second loss of his professional career. Miocic hasn't lost since.



Rematches have an opportunity to create an exciting rivalry between fighters, but sometimes in the fight game, and even more so in the movie industry, the sequel is an extreme letdown.



That was the case when Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson squared off for the second time in Las Vegas at UFC 209 for the UFC Welterweight Title. After their first bout, which was an incredible back and forth battle, the rematch left a sour taste in the mouths of many who wanted more action from the lackluster decision outcome.



Miocic promises his second meeting with Junior dos Santos will be nothing like that.



"Those guys were two different styles. Woodley and Thompson, they're amazing fighters," Miocic stated. "Woodley is strong, powerful, explosive. Wonderboy is also strong, powerful, and explosive, but in a different way with his karate. It's like oil and water. With me and JDS, we're both boxers, we like to stand and bang. That's what everyone wants to see!"



The first meeting between Miocic and Dos Santos was one of the best five-round heavyweight fights in the history of the sport. Sitting atop the most stacked card of 2017 thus far, Miocic is excited to headline such a big event.



"Doesn't get any better than this. They have two title fights, a bunch of top 5, top 10 guys fighting each other. These guys are going for broke," stated Miocic.



When asked why the second clash should live up to the hype, Miocic responded confidently, "It's the best possible matchup to make in the heavyweight division, which I'm glad they did and it's about time.



"I'm just locked in like I do every fight. I have seven performance bonuses, that's the most in the heavyweight division," continued Miocic. "I'm still young and I've got a lot more coming."



With a win over Dos Santos on May 13, Miocic will tie the record for the most consecutive UFC heavyweight title defenses with two. While two is a small number compared to Demetrious Johnson's nine title defenses in a row, knocking on the door of Anderson Silva's record of ten, it shows the extreme volatility of the heavyweight division. All it takes is one punch. That statement holds true at any level of the fight game, but with the big boys in the heavyweight division where the punches land harder, it's extremely appropriate.



Records are a nice thing to have on the resume, but it's an afterthought while Miocic prepares for Dos Santos. Avenging the first loss to the former champion is the only thing on his mind at the time, and once he accomplishes that task, he can look back on the accolades that come with winning at a later time.



"I'm gonna go out there, and I go to bang, man. I don't care what happens, I'm gonna go out there swinging - win or lose...I'm gonna be winning, though."

