Junior dos Santos Posts Statement, Following Pivotal Defeat at UFC Minneapolis

After having his title shot run halted by Francis Ngannou at UFC Minneapolis, Junior dos Santos commented on the devastating loss in a statement he shared out.

Dos Santos was dropped not long into the main event, and after Ngannou landed a couple more punches from above, the fight was stopped. JDS had won three in a row prior to the loss, and before the fight, dos Santos said he hoped to secure a title shot with a win.

After the card, however, dos Santos had this to say about the defeat (quotes via MMA Fighting) via Instagram:

“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.”

There’s no question this is a significant setback for JDS. But, there’s no shame in losing to someone who hits as hard as Ngannou. In other words, don’t be shocked if “Cigano” puts together another title shot run.