Junior dos Santos talks about his time in Croatia and the next step in his career following his unanimous decision over Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 86.
Junior dos Santos managed to get back in the win column after picking Ben Rothwell apart for 25 minutes last Sunday in Zagreb, Croatia. As the former UFC heavyweight champion told Combate, he was very pleased with his performance and did not expect to have the support of the crowd.
“I didn’t know they were going to support me so much. It was good when I was here two months ago to promote the event, but tonight it was amazing. I can only thank them for making this experience so cool. Fortunately, I got the win. Everyone was very nice to me and I love the food. Everything here is special. The city is wonderful and the Croatians made me feel at home everywhere I went.
“Even Mirko Cro Cop paid me a visit at the hotel. I thanked him for coming, because I’m a huge fan of his. He told me he trained with Ben Rothwell, but that’s ok. I think people know me around here because I fought Cro Cop and Stipe Miocic. It’s nice to know people follow MMA here.”
As for his next step, Dos Santos said he is not thinking about a title fight just yet, as he believes he still has much to improve. For now, he just wants to fight and the title shot will come eventually.
“I think I’m doing fine now, but I know I need to improve not only my boxing, but my wrestling and jiu-jitsu as well. But I can’t leave my boxing aside. I’m a boxer and I need to keep it sharp so I can feel confident. We are putting everything back into place now and that’s why I say I will be champion again, for sure. I don’t know how many fights I’ll have before I get a title shot. I just want to fight, because I know the title shot will come. I’ll let the UFC decide.”
Junior dos Santos bounced back from a second round KO loss to Alistair Overeem last December with a unanimous decision win over Ben Rothwell on April 10, at UFC Fight Night 86, in Zagreb, Croatia.