When Ben Rothwell lost to Junior Dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 86, he admitted after the fight that taking a fight against a dangerous opponent like Junior Dos Santos when he was so close to a UFC Heavyweight title shot was a “strategically stupid” move on his part. Dos Santos, however, feels that it was Rothwell’s comments that were actually stupid.
While speaking with Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour” at MMAFighting.com, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos addressed Rothwell’s post-fight comments.
“If you’re winning, you have to fight with anyone,” the former UFC heavyweight champion said Monday on The MMA Hour. “If you want to be the champion, you can’t pick opponents. So if he would like to be the champion, at some point he should fight against me or all the other guys. It’s part of the thing to be champion.”
By defeating Rothwell, Dos Santos picked up some of the momentum that Rothwell had built for himself, moving himself closer to another potential UFC Heavyweight title shot, which he admits is still his ultimate goal.
“The belt is always my goal, my biggest goal,” dos Santos said. “I don’t care about anything that’s happening with all the guys. Sometimes I try to be a little more aggressive with my words, but I don’t know how to do that. My main objective in UFC is to become the champion again. I know that I can do that, and I will do that, so if Dana White wants to give me a gift, give me the title shot.”
Junior Dos Santos is expected to be on the sidelines while recovering from recent surgery. It is believed, however, that he will be able to make his Octagon return by the end of the year.