(This story appeared in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

Junior dos Santos felt bad enough as it was.

He had just gone five rounds with Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight title, and his face told the story.

The dos Santos who stood in the cage waiting to hear the judges’ decision at UFC 155 in December bore little resemblance to the one who had swaggered through Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena a half hour earlier. After getting rocked by a right hand early, he spent much of the fight clinging to the edges of consciousness.

The fact that he was still standing was surprising enough, and now his entire head seemed to have swelled and warped, making him look like he was wearing a dos Santos mask that had been left out in the rain.

He had lost his title. That was obvious well before the decision was announced. Still, the gregarious Brazilian tried to force a smile for his post-fight interview. That’s when the boos came.

“Why they do that?” dos Santos asked UFC color commentator Joe Rogan.

Five months later, he’s still not sure he knows the answer.

“The truth is, I didn’t understand the booing,” dos Santos (15-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) through an interpreter. “It did get me down.”

Of course, so did the beating he received from Velasquez. The important thing, dos Santos said, is that he didn’t stay down. Not for long, anyway.

The former UFC heavyweight champ spent about a week sulking and healing after losing the title to the same man he had taken it from, he said. He watched the fight countless times in that one week, then he forced himself to move on. Now he prepares for the next phase of his career, which begins with a fight against fellow heavyweight slugger Mark Hunt (9-7 MMA, 4-1 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 160 (10 p.m. ET, pay-per-view).

“It was a hard loss,” dos Santos said. “It was very tough for me, but I want to be clear. It wasn’t hard because I lost. Losing wasn’t the hard part. Cain was superior. He fought hard and he deserved the win. That was clear to anyone who watched the fight. I felt bad and I had a hard time because I felt like I didn’t perform. You train for months, and then you go in there and I didn’t execute anything that I’d prepared to do. It was very frustrating to feel that I didn’t give what I had.”

Dos Santos has been stewing in that frustration ever since, waiting for the chance to wash the taste out of his mouth with a victory. In a way, he said, losing the belt might have been good, maybe even necessary.

“It’s already motivated me to learn new things, change my training, and it’s strengthened me,” dos Santos said. “It’s strengthened me as a person and as a fighter. I think I definitely see things clearer. I appreciate things more. I know what I have to do to get that title back.” It starts with a victory against Hunt, who faced his own struggle when visa issues briefly threatened to derail the fight altogether last week. If dos Santos can get past him, the man who used to be known as the UFC’s nice-guy champ might get the chance to redeem himself in a rubber match with Velasquez.

And next time, he hopes a lot of things will be different.

“I don’t think I’ll get booed again,” dos Santos said. “I hope not.”

For the latest on UFC 160, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.