(BDCi) — Former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will fight Mark Hunt at UFC 160 on May 25 in Las Vegas, the promotion announced Saturday.
UFC president Dana White revealed the news to MMAfighting.com earlier in the day.
Hunt replaces former Strikeforce titleholder Alistair Overeem, dos Santos’ initial opponent. Overeem was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Hunt (9-7) put himself in contender status with his third-round technical knockout Stefan Struve on March 3. The win was Hunt’s fourth in a row.
Dos Santos enters the cage for the first time since losing his title by unanimous decision to Cain Velasquez in December. It was the second time the two had squared off as Dos Santos knocked out Velasquez in the first round on Nov. 12, 2011.
A win over Hunt could land Dos Santos another shot at the title, especially if Velasquez retains his belt in the UFC 160 main event against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
Velasquez and Silva meet for the second time inside the cage. In their first meeting, Velasquez knocked out Silva in the first round.
Source: espn.com
Photo: bleacherreport.com