Junior dos Santos vs. Blagoy Ivanov Expected to Headline UFC’s First Card in Idaho

Former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos is wasted no time booking his next fight as he is expected to take on newcomer Blagoy Ivanov at the first ever UFC Fight Night card in Boise, Idaho on July 14.

Sources close to the contest confirmed the news on Monday following an initial report from ESPN. UFC officials have not announced the bout but it’s expected that dos Santos and Ivanov will headline the card in July.

This will be dos Santos’ first fight back since a loss to heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic last May. Following that defeat, dos Santos was scheduled to meet Francis Ngannou but the Brazilian was pulled from the card after a drug test was flagged by USADA.

Last week it was revealed through an extensive investigation from USADA that dos Santos was not at fault for the positive drug test but instead he was the victim of a tainted supplement courtesy of a pharmacy in his home country of Brazil.

Now that he’s cleared to return to action, dos Santos is ready to resume his career with a main event fight in July.

As for Ivanov, the former World Series of Fighting heavyweight champion brings a record of 16-1 with one no contest with his only loss coming to current top 10 ranked contender Alexander Volkov back in 2014.

Outside of that lone setback, Ivanov has won his last five fights in a row including victories over UFC veterans Shawn Jordan and Josh Copeland.

With dos Santos and Ivanov expected to headline the card, more fights for the UFC show in Idaho will likely be announced in the coming days.