Junior dos Santos Releases Statement Following Knockout Loss To Francis Ngannou
Last night (Sat. June 29, 2019) Junior dos Santos came up short in his efforts to stop the hype train of Francis Ngannou.
The pair main evented UFC Minneapolis from the Target Center in Minnesota. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, he left himself wide open after overextending on an overhand strike, which allowed “The Predator” to crack him with some nasty shots from behind, dropping “Cigano” down, before being finished off on the canvas.
Hours removed from the fight, dos Santos released the following statement on Instagram in regards to his loss:
“Guys, first of all I want to thank everybody for your support. I’m sorry the show was short this time, and without a great result for us. I’ve been on top of this sport and weight class for over a decade, and I plan to be here for a long time still. I love fighting, I love my life, and I’m really grateful for every opportunity I have to grow and evolve.
“The climb is tough and long, as you all know and sometimes — like tonight — months of perfect preparation and strategy are overshadowed by a millisecond mistake. There isn’t much to say now other than to congratulate Francis Ngannou for capitalizing so effectively on my mistake.”
With his defeat, dos Santos has his three-fight win streak snapped, and his quest to return to a heavyweight title fight restarts. As for Ngannou, he is now the leading candidate to receive a title opportunity following Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 in August. However, only time will tell if Ngannou does, in fact, receive the nod.
What did you make of dos Santos’ loss to Ngannou last night at UFC Minneapolis?
