Top 5 Stories of the Week

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Junior dos Santos now stands alongside middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones, as the 28-year-old became the latest Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete to ink a sponsorship deal with international sports apparel giant Nike.

Dos Santos will defend his heavyweight crown in a rematch with the American Kickboxing Academy’s Cain Velasquez in the UFC 155 main event on Dec. 29 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The affable Brazilian bomber has won all nine of his fights inside the Octagon, finishing seven of them. Dos Santos burst on the scene in 2008, when he knocked out two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist Fabricio Werdum in 81 seconds at UFC 90.

Other stories of interest on Sherdog.com this week centered on famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach and his role in a potential Silva-Georges St. Pierre super fight, another injury to the snakebitten Shane Carwin, Cung Le’s signature victory over Rich Franklin in China and the announcement of an intriguing welterweight matchup between Jon Fitch and Demian Maia.

Junior Swoosh

Silva No Mystery

Damaged Goods

More Than a Sideshow

Style Clash