Junior dos Santos says the UFC asked him to fight 20 days after Ciryl Gane loss
During an interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, Junior dos Santos stated that the UFC asked him to fight 20 days after his loss to Ciryl Gane. He also discussed his UFC departure and how he was treated before leaving the organization.
The Brazilian stated that while the UFC does a good job as a business organization, it does not care about the fighters on its roster.
However, the former UFC heavyweight champion has no regrets regarding his career in the promotion and is happy with what he achieved:
"[THe UFC is] there to do business and, I think, they're good on doing that. They don't care about anybody or anything, you know. They care about making money and that's it. That's how every business gonna happens, you know, to be successful. I'm thankful for everything that happened to me, in my career. I'm happy, you know. I did a great career in the UFC."
During the interview, dos Santos stated that the way he exited the UFC showed more about their approach towards fighters. According to 'Cigano', he isn't the only fighter the promotion has treated in such a manner:
"The way I was out of the UFC, it shows more about them than really about me. It just happened. It wasn't just with me, you know. They do that with a lot of guys. I'll tell something interesting. Like I said, my two last fights, they were saying, 'Oh, you take or you out.' I said, 'Okay, let's fight.' Whatever, you know, whatever happens, happens."
#UFC256 Official Scorecard: Junior Dos Santos vs Ciryl Gane
All Scorecards: ufc.com/news/ufc-256-o… https://t.co/lbh0rnnAtX
In the aftermath of his fight against Ciryl Gane, which turned out to be dos Santos' final bout in the promotion, the UFC asked him to fight 20 days later.
'Cigano' informed the UFC at the time that he wasn't in the right physical condition to fight:
"But right after that, they called me. The UFC called me, offering a fight with... I forgot the name of the guy now. In 20 days! I said, 'What? I just fought. I had a concussion, I cannot fight. You know, even the Athletic Commission gave me some suspension for that, you know'."
Check out Junior dos Santos' interview with ESPN MMA below:
Junior dos Santos left the UFC in 2020
Junior dos Santos left the UFC in 2020 after a defeat against Ciryl Gane at UFC 256. Heading into the bout, 'Cigano' was coming off losses to Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Curtis Blaydes earlier that year.
"I'm really proud." - @Ciryl_Gane talks about defeating Junior dos Santos at #UFC256, his growth in MMA and why he doesn't want to rush into big fights 🔊⬆️
#UFC256 Results: ufc.com/news/ufc-256-f… https://t.co/7YPdHRfS18
Junior dos Santos eventually left the UFC on a four-fight losing streak, having lost to Francis Ngannou in June 2019 as well. The Brazilian's last win in the promotion was against Derrick Lewis in March 2019.