Surgery Sits ‘Cigano’ Until 2023

Former UFC 265-pound champion Junior dos Santos was hoping to reinvent himself for Eagle FC, but “Cigano” dislocated his shoulder against heavyweight hurter Yorgan De Castro in the Eagle FC 47 main event last month in Miami.

The result was a “complicated” injury that included labrum, tendon, and ligament tears.

“Sadly, [the injury] happened when it wasn’t supposed to, in the third round of a fight where I was feeling incredibly well and seeing everything clearly, avoiding all of his attacks,” Dos Santos told his social media followers (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “He didn’t touch my face. He punched my head once in round one and again in round two, but did not touch my face. A few leg kicks and that’s it. I was seeing everything and moving really well, touching him in an effective way. But things went wrong in the beginning of the third round and my shoulder dislocated. And here we are, ready to take care of this and move on.”

The loss to De Castro marked the fifth straight for “Cigano,” who dropped to 21-10 overall.

It’s hard to predict where Eagle FC will be in 2023 but even if things don’t work out with the Russian-based MMA promotion, run by retired lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov, the 38 year-old Dos Santos still has enough name value to land in PFL or Bellator MMA.