Junior dos Santos has not signed anywhere since his UFC release, but he is interested in making a move to pro wrestling.
Dos Santos was released from the UFC in March 2021, and since then many wondered what would be next for him. Many thought he would either sign with Bellator or BKFC, but recently, he along with several other ATT fighters have participated in AEW. With that, dos Santos says he isn’t ruling out a full-time move to pro wrestling.
“Not yet – but maybe,” dos Santos told MMA Junkie. “The one responsible for this is this man right there, Dan Lambert. He brought some of us to the shows at AEW, and I was just impressed with that. I remember I enjoyed watching some pro wrestling matches, but I wasn’t really following it. Once I was there and I could see how things worked, I was impressed and I said, ‘Man, this is amazing. I want to be a part of it. I want to be in that ring, too.’ So things started to happen, and here we are, close to our debut.
“Why not? I’m not going to say no. I really enjoy this. I’m happy doing it,” dos Santos continued. “I’m enjoying participating in this and the challenge it’s been for me. It feels great, actually. I was looking forward to having a next fight and here I am, close to fighting again in a pro wrestling match, and I feel good about it.”
Junior dos Santos last fought back at UFC 256 where he suffered a TKO loss to Ciryl Gane. It was his fourth loss in a row and fourth straight TKO loss as he also lost to Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Curtis Blaydes, and Francis Ngannou. He’s the former UFC heavyweight champion and would no doubt be a welcomed addition to AEW and be a big-name for them.
