Junior Dos Santos is having a hard time getting over his loss to Ciryl Gane.
Dos Santos (21-9 MMA, 15-8 UFC) suffered his fourth straight TKO when he was stopped by Gane (7-0 MMA, 4-0- UFC) in Round 2 at UFC 256, but the loss didn’t come without controversy.
A visibly upset Dos Santos protested the stoppage, but upon review, the elbow strike that dropped him was deemed legal by referee Jerin Valel, the commentary team and even UFC president Dana White.
One week after his loss, Dos Santos took to social media to vent his frustration, as he broke down the finish that he insists was illegal.
“I know I hadn’t spoken out about my last fight yet because I expect that the (Nevada State) Athletic Commission and the UFC would have watched the replay of the fight and seen for themselves, which is very clear, that the elbow that knocked me out was illegal,” Dos Santos said. “If you watch the fight, there’s no other understanding possible, but this is not what’s happening among these ‘MMA specialists’ out there.
“OK, even if his forearm may have touched my ear like the Athletic Commission say, his elbow was the contact point and it hit me right at the back of my head which is illegal and there’s a reason why blows to the back of the head are prohibited in MMA and there’s no reason that prohibition shouldn’t be enforced.”
(@juniorcigano)He continued “I don’t think it was intentional by Gane, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t illegal. It completely changed the fight in a way that’s not OK with me and should not be OK with anyone who cares about our sport and our safety. I have never not been humble in defeat, but this is not the case here.
“I feel bad that this situation takes away the shine of this victory, but it’s also not OK. (It’s) not right to expect me to take a loss from an illegal blow. I hope you guys agree with me. I know my situation isn’t good in the organization, but that’s not the reason to suddenly stop enforcing rules or stop ensuring my safety inside the cage.”
With the UFC recently making some surprising cuts, Dos Santos could potentially find himself on the chopping block. The former UFC heavyweight champion has been stopped in his past four fights and UFC president White stated after UFC 256 that he thinks Dos Santos should consider his fighting future.