the fight via unanimous decision. Dos Santos was originally expected to face Stefan Struve in a rematch on 19 February 2017 at UFC Fight Night 105. However on 12 January, Struve pulled out due to a shoulder injury. Despite having over six weeks before the event, promotion officials elected to remove Dos Santos from the event instead of having him face a replacement. Dos Santos faced Stipe Miocic on 13 May 2017 at UFC 211 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. He had previously beaten Miocic by unanimous decision at UFC on Fox: dos Santos vs. Miocic in 2014. Dos Santos lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Dos Santos was expected to face Francis Ngannou on 9 September 2017 at UFC 215. However, on 18 August, Dos Santos was pulled from the match after being notified of a potential USADA violation. On 24 April 2018 Dos Santos was cleared of intentionally using of Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) by USADA, after it was determined he had taken tainted supplements which contained hydrochlorothiazide from the compounding pharmacies in Brazil. He became eligible to compete on 24 April 2018. Dos Santos returned from his suspension and faced former WSOF Heavyweight Champion Blagoy Ivanov on 14 July 2018 at UFC Fight Night 133. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Dos Santos faced Tai Tuivasa on 2 December 2018 at UFC Fight Night 142. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Dos Santos faced Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 4 on 9 March 2019. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. Dos Santos faced Francis Ngannou on 29 June 2019 at UFC on ESPN 3. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the first round. Dos Santos was scheduled to face Alexander Volkov on 9 November 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 21. However, Dos Santos was forced to pull out from the event due to a bacterial infection in his leg. As the first bout of his new eight-fight contract, Dos Santos faced Curtis Blaydes on 25 January 2020 at UFC Fight Night 166. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Dos Santos faced Jairzinho Rozenstruik on 15 August 2020 at UFC 252. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Dos Santos faced