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Junior dos Santos

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos issued a statement following his brutal KO loss to Robelis Despaigne this past Saturday.

In one of the most devastating knockouts in MMA this year, Despaigne landed a vicious three-punch combination that knocked dos Santos out cold in the first round of their main card bout at MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano. It was another highlight-reel KO for Despaigne, the former Olympian in taekwondo, while for dos Santos, it was a very tough night at the office.

Junior dos Santos Releases Statement After Knockout Loss

Taking to his social media two days after being brutally knocked out, dos Santos reflected on the fight and thanked his fans for all of their support. He also shared an emotional video of his children greeting him at the airport after his defeat.

“Back to the best place in the world. I’d like to take this opportunity and thank all of you for your support and kindness. I am especially grateful to my family for their unconditional support, to the team I am part of @americantopteam and to @mostvaluablepromotions for this great opportunity at this excellent event they promoted. Everything is fine here. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to execute what I trained for, and things played out the way they did. Congratulations to my opponent on a great victory. As always, in my prayers I ask that God’s will always prevails not mine. Therefore, WE KEEP MOVING FORWARD, STRONG!” wrote dos Santos on his Instagram.

What’s Next for Junior dos Santos?

For MMA fans who have watched dos Santos since he made his UFC debut in 2008 with an upset KO win over Fabricio Werdum at UFC 90, seeing him lose in this sort of fashion to Despaigne was hard to stomach. While for many years it was dos Santos who was knocking his opponents out cold, more often than not, it’s he who is the one getting woken up by a doctor’s flashlight these days.

Not including his two bare-knuckle MMA bouts for Jorge Masvidal’s promotion, dos Santos has been finished by TKO in six straight traditional MMA bouts. Given he was once a feared champion in the UFC, it’s hard to believe the fall from grace he’s had at this point late in his fighting career.

At age 42 and having young children to go home to, this might be it for dos Santos. As much as he loves fighting, it’s not worth it when you are getting knocked out in such devastating fashion as he has been for the last few years.

That being said, his statement made it feel like he wants to keep competing, so ultimately, he will decide to do what he wishes. But in a young man’s sport where getting old never makes things easier, perhaps it’s time he finally steps away. Whenever he does, you would have to think he’ll be a shoo-in for the UFC Hall of Fame, as he is one of the best heavyweight fighters of all time, holding notable wins over the likes of Cain Velasquez, Stipe Miocic, Mark Hunt, Frank Mir, Derrick Lewis, and many more.