Former UFC heavyweight Junior dos Santos revealed how the UFC was “really unprofessional” during his final two fights with the promotion.
Dos Santos is the former UFC heavyweight champion and one of the greatest fighters to ever compete at that weight class in the UFC. However, following four straight losses in the Octagon, including a TKO loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 256, the promotion decided to let him go. Considering dos Santos was a former champion and is universally regarded as one of the best people in the business, it was surprising to see the UFC let him go when he made it clear that he wanted to stick around longer. Since being cut by the UFC, dos Santos has joined AEW Wrestling and he is happy there, but he still has qualms with the UFC.
Speaking to MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz in a recent interview, dos Santos revealed how the UFC was unprofessional to him during his final two fights with the organization. According to the Brazilian, the UFC told him that he had to take fights against Gane and Jairzinho Rozenstruik or else the promotion threatened to cut him from the fighter roster.
“They were really unprofessional, let’s put it this way, with the way they treated (me), like they (treat) everybody else,” Junior Dos Santos said. “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.’”
For Dos Santos, things have seemed to work out well as he is currently starring for AEW and is doing well in the world of pro wrestling. But the way his UFC career ended was far from ideal, and especially considering a former champion should be treated with more respect than he was.