After losing to then-rising contender Ciryl Gane in December 2020, the UFC dismissed Dos Santos a few months later.
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Junior Dos Santos is making a new start. Dos Santos (21-9) is a former UFC heavyweight champion who will compete in the Eagle FC 47 main event on Friday. It’ll be his first fight since leaving the UFC, where he developed a famous resume over the course of 13 years. Although Dos Santos enjoyed many unforgettable moments on the UFC arena, the Brazilian is dissatisfied with how his time with the organisation ended.
Junior Dos Santos when speaking with MMA Junkie spoke about how much pressure he had and how unhappy he was. But also understanding the fact of how big the organization is and they can’t focus on a single fighter. He said, “I was feeling pressured. The way that things happened, we’re under pressure all the time. I feel like they were trying to drain everything I could provide for them to build other names and things like that they could maybe do work (with).”
“That’s what my feeling is. It doesn’t mean anything. They’re a huge company. It’s kind of stupid of me thinking that they would put that much focus and attention on top of me. But that’s how I felt, and if I feel that way, things don’t go very right inside of me, so that’s why.”
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After losing to then-rising contender Ciryl Gane in December 2020, the UFC dismissed Dos Santos a few months later. Dos Santos’ four-fight losing streak ended with the loss against Gane, his worst in his career. Gane, who would go on to win a UFC interim championship, Francis Ngannou, the current heavyweight champion, and two other strong contenders, Curtis Blaydes and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, were all defeated during the losing streak.
Dos Santos, 38, believes the UFC used his fame to promote up-and-comers but didn’t give him much in return. “Cigano” understands the fight industry, which is why he advises the current champions to take care of themselves. He emphasized how he was one of the oldest stars in the company and how easily they would let him go. He also spoke that everything is done for money and it is just business. Dos Santos also spoke on how nothing that was done was helpful for the fighters.
Dos Santos said, “That’s the reality. I know it’s a business and they’re there to make money and they’re doing great actually doing that. Man, there’s nothing really covering or helping the fighters, you know? All the guys who are there and they’re champions and things, in the future they will see what I’m talking about. At some point, you’re not their focus anymore. They try to drain everything. … I was there for 12 years. I felt I was being part of the building process, and of course, everybody is, all the fighters are. But you know, it wasn’t in a good way, but business is business.”
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