It wasn’t long after Junior dos Santos suffered a TKO loss to Ciryl Gane that he truly learned his worth to the UFC.
At home and still recovering from the knockout, the ex-heavyweight champion received a call from the UFC matchmakers offering another fight. Dos Santos received an ultimatum, despite the fact that his fourth knockout loss was not over.
“Right after I got home, [the UFC] called and said, ‘You’ve got to fight in 20-something days against [Marcin] Tybura,’ and I just had a concussion!” dos Santos told MMA Fighting. I cannot fight!” OK, so you cannot fight? A few days later, you’re out.
“It’s better to be out than to fight the way I [was then]. My last two fights, they were saying, ‘You take [the fight] or you’re out.’ It’s not the right way to treat people, especially athletes that build up their brand to the highest point where they are now. It must change .”
After declining the Tybura fight because of his concussion symptoms, dos Santos had his UFC contract terminated. This made him an unrestricted agent, the first free agent since he was promoted back in 2008.
Dos Santos frequently spoke out about his feelings towards the UFC, his exit from the UFC after more than a decade as a top heavyweight and how he felt.
More than a year has passed since his release, and the 38-year-old Brazilian has moved forward with his career, inking a deal with Triller to compete in Triad Combat as well as a deal with Eagle FC, where he will serve as one half of the main event for Friday’s card.
Dos Santos says the complaints he has about the UFC aren’t sour grapes, but rather wake-up calls he hopes will serve as warnings to other fighters going into the organization with blinders on.
“I wasn’t being appreciated in the UFC anymore,” dos Santos explained. It seemed like they wanted to exploit me and were pushing. ‘Go! Go! Junior do this!’ It didn’t make my happy. I wasn’t happy being there anymore. I wasn’t getting prepared right. It wasn’t how I wanted it to be. I like to show up with intensity, and if you remember, I was pointing to the ground on the octagon all the time. It wasn’t working anymore. It was because I didn’t feel that.
” I wasn’t happy being part of this business. I wasn’t feeling part of the UFC world anymore. Although pressure is part and parcel of being in the UFC world, the UFC was making me feel down .”
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There was actually a time toward the end of his run with the UFC that dos Santos thought it might be time to call it a career.
” I wasn’t worthy of anything anymore to the UFC, and that makes me sad,” said Santos. They treat fighters, and those who have helped build the sport and their brand extremely badly. We are now proving the world. With the experiences I’ve had, I don’t feel that I need to prove anything, but it is something I cherish. Fighting is something I love. The competition scene is what I love the most. It excites me a lot.
” I was thinking a lot about this. Should this be the moment for me to stop? I don’t know, things are not getting together, what’s happening?”
It wasn’t until after his release that dos Santos began to see the larger picture of his career. He learned that while the UFC is the biggest promotion, it isn’t the only show in town.
When he received offers to fight at a new home for his sport, dos Santos was truly grateful. The financial rewards certainly helped. According to dos Santos, the contract he signed for a Triad Combat bout originally scheduled for February was set to pay him more than he made in the UFC while he was the reigning heavyweight champion.
“There are many opportunities for fighters right now,” said Santos. The UFC has a contract that you can’t change. They do anything they want to do. Even Francis Ngannou, he wants to step out of the UFC and he’s saying, ‘I’m not going to fight any more for $500,000 or $600,000, I’m the champion,’ and he’s more than right.
“It won’t make your life very easy. This type of things happens a lot in the UFC. There’s guys like Gane, they make $100,000, $200,000 to fight. Are you kidding me? If you want to be the star of the show and make lots of money, then you have to do big events. You’ve got to be part of the evolution of the sport. This is far from fair .”
As he prepares for his first fight outside the UFC in nearly 14 years, dos Santos admits he’s not only happier, but also that he knows he’s not done with fighting.
“As soon as I went back to the gym, I was feeling that energy and I was throwing my punches on my partners and getting punched by them, and I was like, I love this thing!” dos Santos said. “I need to do this thing as long as I can.
“Now I am receiving this gratitude back to myself. This is a great way to feel rejuvenated. This reminds me of my early days. Everything was new to me, and I was surprised by the beauty of everything. Right now, I’m feeling kind of like that, but with so much more experience.”
Based on his personal experience, dos Santos feels that the UFC must make major changes in the way it treats fighters. However, he isn’t sure when this might happen. Although Ngannou and other fighters might be a sign of a new era in the UFC, dos Santos hopes the UFC will learn to value the talent that makes the sport what it is.
” I’m not saying [the UFC is] are not remarkable — they are,” Santos stated. “They brought the sport to another level. They made MMA accessible to everyone. They brought great opportunities for the fighters. They’re great. [UFC President] Dana White and the UFC did a great job for the MMA industry, the MMA world. The only problem is that they need to give their fighters more autonomy. Better paychecks. They sell these guys.
“Who’s making the show? Who is the show? The fighters! Respect and be kind .”
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