Junior Dos Santos on loss to Francis Ngannou: 'I kind of gave him that victory'
MINNEAPOLIS – Following his loss on Saturday night, Junior Dos Santos made it a point to congratulate his opponent Francis Ngannou on an important victory. However, the former UFC heavyweight champion feels his biggest opponent inside the cage might have been himself.
Saturday night, Ngannou (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) finished Dos Santos (21-6 MMA, 15-5 UFC) via TKO in the opening minutes of their main event at UFC on ESPN. The loss derailed Dos Santos’s hopes to challenge for the heavyweight strap in his next outing, while it boosted Ngannou into the title conversation.
UFC on ESPN 3 took place Saturday at Target Center. The card aired on ESPN.
The finishing sequence saw Dos Santos throw a looping overhand hook that ultimately missed, before Ngannou connected with fight-ending blows. Annoyed with himself at the post-fight news conference, the 35-year-old Brazilian highlighted the mistake he made which opened himself up for the finish.
“If I had followed the strategy a little more with more attention, I think I would do very well,” Dos Santos said at the post-fight news conference. “I was feeling good. I was feeling fine. My punches were connecting. My kicks were connecting. I felt good. But the mistake was, why overhand right? I should stick (to) the strategy and throw straight punches. Maybe the jab and cross would be a better option. When you see opportunities you go too hungry for those opportunities. Sometimes you pay a high price for that.”
Despite being complimentary towards Ngannou, Dos Santos feels it was his fight to lose. Mental errors aside, he believes things could have played out differently had he stuck to the gameplan.
“I don’t want to take any credit (from) him, but I kind of gave him that victory,” Dos Santos said. “Why throw that overhand right and get closer to him? Give him the chance to answer on top. Because that’s what he does. Every time you miss a punch on him, he’s right there to reply to that. It was a big mistake. Like I said, I did it in the fight with Derrick Lewis, but I was able to (come) back. This time it didn’t work.”
Where does Dos Santos go from here? Not even “Cigano” himself is able to answer that question.
“It wasn’t on my plans (to lose), so I don’t really know,” Dos Santos said. “I had a lot of plans in a different situation and a different result. It’s so hard to build your way up in this sport. Sometimes all of a sudden (everything) disappears from in front of you. I’m a positive guy and I’m ready to rebuild. I know how to do it. I’m made of truth and I’m truth. I know how to do it again and I will do it again. Congratulations to him.”
Hurt by the loss, Dos Santos believes the only healing remedy for his ailment will be to get back into the win column.
“Having another fight, it’s kind of a medicine for me to heal this injury defeat causes on you,” Dos Santos said. “I want to fight as soon as I’m able to fight again. Let’s go back home, think about everything that happened (and) get back to work. I believe I belong to this world of fighting.”
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