In what some have dubbed the Conor McGregor era of MMA, where trash-talking is currency, some fighters stand out for their decision to resist the pull of the culture around them and just be … nice.
We like to call it the MMA’s Nice Guy Club. And by “we,” I mean I like to call it that. And by “I like to call it that,” I mean I have just made that up. And looking at it now, I realize it sounds a little derivative.
But, anyway, back to the matter at hand. Whenever we talk about these guys, one name that often comes to mind is former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. Whether it’s smiling through basically every media interaction, showing off his singing chops or handling defeat with grace, Dos Santos (20-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) consistently has earned his spot on cool fighter lists everywhere.
Or has he? Could it be that this has all just been an elaborate ruse and that “JDS” has been fooling us all with his act?
Prompted by this question made by no one, I set out to investigate Dos Santos’ public persona ahead of a UFC on ESPN+ 4 meeting with Derrick Lewis on Saturday. Below, you’ll see the results of my very thorough investigation that consisted of watching stuff on the internet.
Warning: Unless you hate cuddly kangaroos, Adele’s heavenly voice and helping make kids’ dreams come true, be prepared to be overtaken by this urge to want to hang out with JDS.
We’re not crying, you are
Back in 2012, Dos Santos defeated Frank Mir to defend the UFC heavyweight title. Afterward, while still in the cage, he lifted up a little boy during his celebration. That boy was Breno de Carvalho, a 9-year-old who trained in the same gym as Dos Santos in Brazil. Carvalho, who came from humble beginnings, had his and his family’s travel expenses paid for by the UFC after catching their attention while shooting the “UFC Primetime” TV series. He was by Dos Santos’ side in every fight week activity.
Five years later, MMA Fighting caught up with de Carvalho, who’d just won his first boxing tournament and was hoping to embark on an MMA career soon. Carvalho remained very much inspired by Dos Santos, who sent a response that might cause those damn allergies that keep making your eyes water to flare up a bit.
“It was my first title defense, and everything that surrounded that moment had Breno as one of my foundations,” Dos Santos said. “He was like a key for that moment. I helped him in a way, taking him to the United States with me, him watching his live UFC, but he also helped me. Seeing him joyful was so gratifying, it made me stronger. He helped me in my first title defense.”
Why beef with the competition when you can … competitively eat beef with the competition?
Remember all those times when fight-promotion tours end in dancing, barbecue-eating competitions and opportunities for opponents to draw pictures of each other?
Yeah, that might be because that kind of thing never happens.
It did with Dos Santos and then-champ Stipe Miocic, though, in the build-up to UFC 211. Although the two heavyweights had already clashed in the cage and were about to do it again, this time with a belt on the line, the two seemed to have a blast while fulfilling promotion duties for their pay-per-view headliner.
It’s quite telling that the tour ended with Miocic’s wife praising both her husband and JDS with a sweet Instagram message – to which Dos Santos, of course, responded like a gentleman.
When you lose a fight but not your class
That rematch with Miocic, as we know, didn’t quite end the way JDS expected. After taking a unanimous decision in their first meeting, Dos Santos was knocked out by Miocic at UFC 211 and saw his hopes of reclaiming gold crushed in the first round.
That’s the type of loss that could make any fighter salty, but apparently Dos Santos isn’t any fighter. Addressing the media after the bout, Dos Santos made no excuses for his loss. Quite the contrary; “Cigano” said the loss was not about what he’d done wrong, but rather what Miocic did right and, as sad as he was to lose, he found solace in the fact that it had been to a guy like him.
“I’d like to become the champion again,” Dos Santos said. “But if I’m not the champion, I’m glad this guy is the champion. He’s a really nice guy. I still think the same. He deserves that. And tonight was his night.”
Watch him explode
Remember when Dos Santos was giving an interview to MMAjunkie and just decided to bust out his rendition of AC/DC’s “T.N.T,” adapting it to refer to his ATT team?
No?
You’re welcome (fast forward to 2:30).
Nevermind I’ll find someone like you
Don’t worry, fight fan who is not that into Australian rock. When it comes to Santos’ musical repertoire there’s a little for everyone. In an interview with TMZ, Dos Santos said that he’d honed his English skills with the help of Adele and Katy Perry.
Asked whether he really liked the singers, Dos Santos had no problem confirming enthusiastically. And then he proved it, by performing a duet version of “Someone Like You” with TMZ’s camera man.
By the way, props to TMZ guy for really committing.
Nothing says truce like a baby kangaroo
And now… the piece de resistance.
In his most recent fight, Dos Santos traveled all the way to Adelaide, Australia, to fight a local, then-unbeaten product in Tai Tuivasa. The build-up to the fight had some moments of tension and back-and-forth, but, by the time they got there, all was forgiven and forgotten.
Dos Santos told us that himself, but the images of the two posing in a family-style photo with a kangaroo were kind of a give-away.
In a free adaptation of the words of the great poet Sylvia Plath: “There must be quite a few things a baby kangaroo won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.”
For more on UFC on ESPN+ 4, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
