(As you can tell by the above photo, Junior was feeling a little self-conscious about his looks that night as well.)
Perhaps it’s because he’s one of the nicest guys in the sport, but we’d like to think that most MMA fans hold Junior Dos Santos to a higher standard than that of most fighters. We sure as hell do. Regardless of who you were rooting for at UFC 155, we defy you to declare that you didn’t weep for the battered former champ as he asked Joe Rogan “Why they do that?” while being met with a chorus of undeserved boos in his post-fight interview. It was like watching a child’s face sink with the unexpected revelation that that there was no Santa. On Christmas Eve.
So it is with heavy hearts that we must bring you the inevitable next chapter in the book of any fallen fighter: The Excuses. To be fair, the problems Junior cited in a recent interview with Brazil’s Esporte were not the typical kind of nonsense you’d hear from 90% of MMA fighters attempting to diagnose a loss, but the fact that we hold Junior in such high regard makes his recent allegations all the more disappointing:
Really was my head. I had some personal things going on, a bit of my attention was lacking because of it. And another thing. Soon after the fight I went to the hospital and had a scan, which showed my creatine was too high. The normal level is up to 300, mine was in 1400. I also had trouble in the urine and kidneys.
The explanation of the doctors is that I pushed over the line, I over trained, and problems could have happened even before the fight… I was so good that I ended up crossing the line. That was the explanation of doctors. Mine is that I was not good with my head, was having personal problems and did not go well mentally in the fight.
So Junior kind of psyched himself out is basically what he is saying. It’s understandable, we guess, although one would think that he would be riding a wave of confidence considering how his first fight with Velasquez went down. But Junior’s most recent declaration, besides being a clear ploy to set up a trilogy fight with Velasquez (even though those notions have been all but squashed by Dana White for the time being), kind of feels below him, honestly.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just sick of all these sports stars continuously crushing my unrealistic expectations in regard to their characters. First Lance Armstrong finally admits to PED use and now this; it’s getting too goddamn depressing. So please, Junior, no more of this. And please, future interviewers of Junior, stop pressing him for these kind of excuses. Because excuses are like a drug. One day, you’re simply brushing off your loss as the result of a nagging injury, or a mental issue, and convincing yourself that things will be different the second/third time around. But before you know it, you’re carrying around a fake belt and calling yourself the “true champion” of the division to any two-bit reporter who will entertain your continuously tiring act. It’s a slippery slope.