After his title fight loss to Stipe Miocic in 2017, Junior dos Santos bounced back with a three-fight win streak over the last eight months. It all ended on Saturday night when he was knocked out by Francis Ngannou inside one round.

During his post-fight scrum, the former UFC heavyweight champion said he felt he gave the fight away by deviating from the original game plan.

“I don’t want to take any credit (away) from him, but I kind of gave him that victory,” dos Santos said,” Because why did I throw that overhand right and got closer to him, gave him the chance to answer. Because that’s what he does. Every time you miss a punch on him, he’s right there to reply to that.

“It was a big mistake.”

“Cigano” did give credit where it was due, but also expects a rematch in the future.

“He deserves this win. Like I said, he’s an excellent representative for this division,” he said of Ngannou. “A big guy with a lot of power, the type of guy that I like to watch.

“So, to tell you the truth, I can’t wait to face him again.”

The 35-year-old dos Santos now drops to a record of 21-6, with 16 wins by stoppage.