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Junior dos Santos Laments Strategic Gaffe That Led to KO Loss at UFC on ESPN 3



Junior dos Santos didn’t have much time to get settled in against Francis Ngannou in the UFC on ESPN 3 headliner on Saturday night.

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That’s due in large part to his own lapse in judgment, which caused him to throw an ill-advised overhand right during an early exchange. “Cigano” missed badly and as a result left himself exposed to perhaps the most devastating power puncher in the heavyweight division. Ngannou capitalized, rocking his foe with a right hook and then following him to the canvas, where a series of hammerfists ended the contest 1:11 into Round 1.

“If I had followed the strategy a little more with more attention, I think I would do very well,” Dos Santos said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I was feeling good. I was feeling fine. My punches were connecting. My kicks were connecting. I felt good. But the mistake was, why overhand right? I should stick [to] the strategy and throw straight punches. Maybe the jab and cross would be a better option. When you see opportunities you go too hungry for those opportunities. Sometimes you pay a high price for that.”

Ngannou, a former title challenger, has now rebounded from a two-fight skid with three consecutive first-round finishes of dos Santos, Cain Velasquez and Curtis Blaydes. Dos Santos saw his own three-fight winning streak come to an end. The Brazilian veteran regrets giving Ngannou the type of opening he needed to continue his knockout streak.

“I don’t want to take any credit [from] him, but I kind of gave him that victory,” Dos Santos said. “Why throw that overhand right and get closer to him? Give him the chance to answer on top. Because that’s what he does. Every time you miss a punch on him, he’s right there to reply to that. It was a big mistake. Like I said, I did it in the fight with Derrick Lewis, but I was able to [come] back. This time it didn’t work.”

A former champion who has come up short in his last two bids to reclaim UFC gold, dos Santos would have likely been a strong candidate to assume the top contender’s position had he defeated Ngannou. Instead, he will look to bounce back from his latest disappointment.

“I had a lot of plans in a different situation and a different result. It’s so hard to build your way up in this sport,” he said. Sometimes all of a sudden [everything] disappears from in front of you. I’m a positive guy and I’m ready to rebuild. I know how to do it. I’m made of truth and I’m truth. I know how to do it again and I will do it again. Congratulations to him.”

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