Poatan admits to having feared 'abandonment' from fans amid a delicate moment in his career

Alex Poatán in preparation for a UFC fight. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/UFC

No longer light heavyweight champion (up to 93kg.) after dramatic loss to Magomed Ankalayev No. UFC 313, Alex Poatán He admitted to having been afraid of the fans' reactions in bitter cases like these in his career. Experienced in the world of fighting, the fighter said he had already witnessed many 'abandonments' when he was no longer in the sport.

“A lot of things happened, but I don’t want to make excuses. I think it was a loss, but like I said, I’ve been doing a lot of things and a lot of people have supported me. I’ve seen some athletes who, when they were winning, people were always praising them and sending them messages; and when they lost, they forgot about it. I was scared (thinking): ‘Will it be like that for me too?’” declared Poatan in an interview with Ariel Helwani.

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Despite the fear, the fighter was surprised by the reaction of the MMA community, who embraced him after the setback to Ankalaev.

“Many people said that when the guy won, it would be the same people who would criticize him, but here today I see that it’s the same thing for me. People love me and I really like that. I just want to thank all my fans for this, in this difficult time for me, they didn’t leave me aside and for me I see the same thing (…) I love my fans, I love them so much”, he concluded.

Alex Poatán is defeated by Magomed Ankalayev No. UFC 313. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/UFC News

Determined to fight for the belt again, Poatan is waiting for a call from the UFC to schedule a rematch against Ankalaev soon. The Brazilian says he will not fight anyone other than the Russian next.