Emotional Junior dos Santos reflects on ‘terrible’ night at UFC 211

Junior dos Santos left the Octagon last Saturday in Dallas without getting his hand raised. His defeat at the hands of heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic was obviously difficult, but what’s more is that it seemed entirely unexpected.

Up to the point when he suffered a right-handed punch to the side of his head, dos Santos thought things were going well for him. He worked his game plan and felt good, applying several strikes and scoring on the champion.

But then the referee pulled Miocic off the top of him and brought an end to the fight. For a man once considered the baddest on the planet for his destruction of the heavyweight division, the tables have certainly turned.

“That’s the heavyweight division, you know?” dos Santos said during the post-fight press conference. “I think I’ve made many, many guys feel like that. It’s terrible, man. It’s terrible. Because I was prepared … and I had a lot to give there and everything, like I said, everything was working very well. The way we expected.”

The disappointment appeared to set in during the press conference. JDS became emotional when answering questions, using a towel to wipe away the tears.

There was an extra sting for the former heavyweight champ because everything was going as planned. When things are going so well and then they suddenly take a turn for the worse, it can be overwhelming, even for the most ferocious and biggest combatants on the planet.

“I’m very disappointed,” he said. “Not because he won the fight, but because I lost. I didn’t do any mistake in the fight. Actually, everything was working very well. I know he walks forward all the time, and I like to walk backwards and enjoy the opportunities that my opponents give to me.”

Although beaten, dos Santos isn’t prepared to wallow around in defeat. He said he wants to fight again as soon as possible, if only to erase the memory of UFC 211.

Loving your job allows you the opportunity to get over the times it’s tough.

“You know, I’m here to fight,” he said. “And now I’m looking forward for my next fight already because I want to delete this thing … I’m still looking forward for my future fights because that’s what I love to do.”