MIAMI – Junior Dos Santos’s MMA return almost went as planned.
The former UFC heavyweight champion was en route to winning his first fight after his release from the UFC, but he suffered a shoulder injury in the main event of Eagle FC 47 and lost the bout to Jorgan De Castro as he was unable to continue fighting. The bout was stopped at the 0:35 mark of Round 3.
In the first round, Dos Santos (21-10) was the more effective striker. He connected the higher volume of shots, landing hard leg kicks and good jabs. Although De Castro (9-3) didn’t seem to be too affected by the shots, he was unable to get a consistent offense going for the majority of the round, as Dos Santos stayed light on his feet and circled around him. Towards the end, De Castro closed the gap a bit.
The second was very similar, but even more dominant by Dos Santos. He was able to get the range on De Castro and avoid the majority of his shots while landing his own. De Castro pressured forward while looking to connect, but was unable.
Dos Santos continued to put the pressure on early in the third, but after attempting to throw a right-hand punch, his shoulder popped out. He immediately backed away and tried to rotate it back into place, but De Castro noticed the injury and pointed it out to the referee. Dos Santos became upset because he knew it meant the fight was over. As a result of being unable to continue, De Castro picked up the TKO victory.
With this unfortunate result, Dos Santos is now on a five-fight losing streak. This return marked his first fight since his UFC release in 2021. The last time “Cigano” had his hand raised was against Derrick Lewis back in 2019. Dos Santos holds notable wins over Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Mark Hunt, Mirko Cro Cop, Fabricio Werdum and many others.
Meanwhile, De Castro records a victory and keeps picking up momentum post his UFC career. The Cape Verde fighter is on a three-fight winning streak with a decision win over Danyelle Williams, a submission finish of Shaun Asher, and now a TKO victory over Dos Santos. De Castro entered the UFC in 2019 after winning a contract in Dana White’s Contender Series. He competed four times under the UFC banner going 1-3. The win over “Cigano” is easily the highest-profile victory in De Castro’s career, even if by injury.
The full official results of Eagle FC 47 include:
Yorgan De Castro def. Junior Dos Santos via TKO (injury) – Round 3, 0:35
Hector Lombard vs. Thiago Silva ends in no contest (accidental foul) Round 2, 1:44
Maki Pitolo def. Doug Usher via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:30
Andrew Sanchez def. Gabriel Checco via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Akhmed Aliev def. Darrell Horcher via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:30
Islam Mamedov def. Zach Zane via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:50
Ronny Markes def. Reggie Pena via submission (knee injury) – Round 2, 1:21
Roosevelt Roberts def. Alexandre Almeida via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Paulo Silva def. Sean Soriano via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Adi Alic def. Shawn Bunch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Dylan Mantello def. Dennis Hughes via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00