Junior dos Santos will not have good memories of his Eagle FC 47 fight against Yorgan De Castro. ‘Cigano’ was unable to continue due to a shoulder injury.
It was the promotional debut for the former UFC heavyweight champion, who was looking to begin a new chapter in his professional career. However, a shoulder injury put an end to his fight against Yorgan De Castro as the referee stopped the fight in the third round.
This heavyweight bout served as Eagle FC 47's main event. This was also ‘Cigano’s’ first fight after being released by the UFC back in March. He was picked up as a favorite to win it due to his experience and accolades, such as being the UFC heavyweight champion once in his career.
The bout itself was mainly a stand-up affair, with Junior dos Santos doing most of the damage. However, in the first minute of the third and final round, he threw an awkward punch that dislocated his shoulder injury.
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While dos Santos was backtracking, Yorgan De Castro was quick to notify the in-ring referee that he should check out his opponent's elbow as it was "off." This led to the official stopping the round and declaring De Castro the winner.
Watch Junior dos Santos dislocate his elbow in the clip below:
Cross-promotional plans between Eagle FC and Bellator may be canceled due to Junior dos Santos's loss
One of the first people to react to the outcome of the Eagle FC 47 headliner was none other than the promotion’s owner, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Dagestani fighter posted on Twitter that he feels bad for Junior dos Santos and that the former kingpin of the UFC heavyweight division looked good in the cage:
Check out the tweet below:
‘Cigano’s’ loss may have bigger consequences than just him not getting his hand raised. In the lead-up to Eagle FC 47, Khabib Nurmagomedov announced some ambitious plans centered around dos Santos.
During his interview with The Underground, ‘The Eagle’ stated that there are negotiations going on between his promotion and Bellator to book a cross-promotional bout between Junior Dos Santos and Fedor Emelianenko.
The former UFC lightweight champion said that he will be meeting with Bellator’s president, Scott Coker, and they will talk about making it a reality.
However, these plans may be put on hold as the extent of dos Santos's injury is yet to be known. It's hard to say how long his rehabilitation will take. Fedor also wouldn't be willing to wait that long as he looks to end his legendary fighting career.
Furthermore, 'Cigano' hasn't won a fight in almost three years and is on a five-fight losing streak. Considering his most recent outing, one could argue that the Brazilian still has it. However, a shoulder injury could keep the 38-year-old out of action for a sizeable amount of time.