He did not talk about tactics. He did not talk about scorecards, game plans or judges.
He talked about his name.
In the days after his defeat, the fighter – a former college wrestler turned professional – released a long, pointed statement aimed not at promoters or pundits, but at the people he says know him best: his family, his friends, his fans.
“This statement is for my family, my friends, my fans and the people who truly know me and know the kind of man I am,” he began, framing his words as a personal defence as much as a public one.
He acknowledged that some will never be convinced “no matter what I say or do,” and accepted that as “their choice.” His focus, he insisted, was on those who see him not just as an athlete, but as “a husband and a father to a young daughter.”
The trigger, he explained, came in fight week. His opponent had reached back into his college years, raising an old allegation in the build-up to their bout. The timing, he suggested, was designed to unsettle him mentally, but it also dragged a closed chapter back into the spotlight.
“I want to be clear — I did not do anything alleged,” he said. He stressed that he was “never charged with a crime” and that the case was “ultimately dropped by the district attorney.”
According to his account, the claims “were not ignored nor brushed aside,” but “thoroughly and heavily reviewed” as he “fully cooperated with law enforcement,” including a separate Title IX review.
His message hammered at one central point: there were “no criminal charges, no conviction, and no finding of responsibility” against him. “The matter was closed,” he said, adding that “there is no pending legal issue” involving him. He also referenced his own attorney’s review, claiming that counsel had stated on the record that “even if the law was changed, I would have the same outcome, which now speaks for itself.”
He did not downplay the gravity of the subject. “I understand how serious allegations like this are,” he said, and acknowledged that people “may have questions when they hear only part of a story.” But he drew a clear line about where his energy will go from here: “Moving forward, I am going to keep focusing on my wife, my daughter, my family and the work in front of me.”
To those who have stood by him, he offered a direct thank you. “I know who I am. My family knows who I am. The people who have walked with me through life know who I am. That’s what matters to me and that’s where I’m going to keep my focus.”
Only then did he turn to the man who beat him.
“As for my opponent, congratulations, you caught me,” he admitted, stripping away any excuses about the result. “A mistake on my end was made. It was your night.”
He reached back to his wrestling background to frame the loss as a familiar kind of setback, the sort he believes can sharpen rather than shatter a career.
“Just like my wrestling days after my loss, I came back with an undeniable will to win and focus that led me to the top of my sport,” he said. Saturday’s defeat, in his view, will serve the same purpose. “The result of Saturday night, I believe, will catapult me to do the same. I will be great and this won’t deny me.”
The statement closed not with a plea, but with a promise: his reputation, he insists, will be defined in the long run by what he does next.
