LAS VEGAS – Following the news that as many as 60 fighters could be set to be released from the UFC before the end of the year, a number of fighters were under the spotlight at UFC 256, including former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos, who fell to his fourth straight TKO defeat.
Dos Santos (21-9 MMA, 15-8 UFC) captured the UFC heavyweight title from Cain Velasquez at UFC on Fox 1 back in November 2011, and has campaigned from a ranked position in the UFC heavyweight division ever since.
His last victory came back in March 2019 against Derrick Lewis and, since that win, he’s suffered four consecutive losses, each by TKO, as he fell to Francis Ngannou, Curtis Blaydes, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and, at UFC 256, Ciryl Gane.
That run of form, coupled with White’s prior comments about the UFC’s imminent roster cuts, prompted questions about the Brazilian’s fighting future at the post-fight press conference where White admitted that speculation over who might be on the chopping block has been a topic for the UFC for the past few weeks.
“That’s every weekend. We’ll be talking about this next weekend, too, after the fights,” he told reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage at the UFC Apex. “It’s part of the sport. Between last year and next year, you’re going to see a lot of the old big names moving on and retiring.”
While White didn’t state that the UFC was set to release its former heavyweight champion, the UFC president did say that he felt the time had come for “Cigano” to assess his next move after suffering his fourth straight TKO defeat in the octagon.
When asked whether the Brazilian should consider his future “in fighting, in general,” White responded simply, “I do.”