Junior Dos Santos Says UFC Threatened Him Into Taking Fights

Former UFC Champion had some bolt statements to get off his chest about the UFC, and they paint quite the picture about the organization overall. According to the Brazilian mixed martial artist, the UFC actually forced him to take his last two fights.

It was in speaking with Trocação Franca, that he unloaded on his former employers, and just like his punches in the Octagon, the fighter held nothing back at all, he seemingly firing on all cylinders. He said:

“They were really unprofessional, let’s put it this way, with the way they treated [me], like they [treat] everybody else…I wasn’t the first and won’t be the last. The last two fights I got were on those terms, ‘You take it or you’re out.’”

The fights he’s referring to are specifically the fight pitting Dos Santos against Ciryl Gane in December 2020, and the fight pitting him against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in August 2020.

Dos Santos had a total of 23 fights for the UFC, his record 21-9. He was released by the mixed martial arts promotion once his consecutive losses mounted to a total of 4. The allegations are pretty serious, but perhaps both sides of the coin should be looked at here.

As a champion, one has an obligation to defend. This is simply speculation, but to play devil’s advocate would certainly make sense. It is possible that Dos Santos was dragging his feet, thus leading the UFC to force him to sign a deal for a title defense or two. If this was the case, we don’t yet know, but knowing Dana White the way we certainly do, he’s sure to respond to these allegations. We’ll keep you posted on that front for sure.

If anything, Junior Dos Santos certainly seems to have no issues working for All Elite Wrestling.

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