Frustrated Chris Camozzi says fans got cheated, wants to face Yoshihiro Akiyama

After Chris Camozzi (19-8 MMA, 6-5 UFC) was outwrestled for the better part of 15 minutes in a lackluster UFC 175 affair, the middleweight veteran says he’s hoping he can quickly book a return bout against someone who’s actually willing to fight.

“I feel like the fans got cheated on that fight,” Camozzi said of his UFC 175 loss to Bruno Santos (14-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC). “I came to fight. He came to hold on. All I can say is I didn’t really get hit in the face. He was just holding on.

“It’s my fault for getting taken down, but at the same time, I came to give the fans what they wanted to see, and unfortunately, they didn’t get it.”

UFC 175 took place Saturday at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center. The Santos vs. Camozzi fight, which didn’t exactly prove a crowd-pleaser, aired on the evening’s FOX Sports 1-televised preliminary card.

It’s hard to argue with Camozzi’s point of view. After all, while the 27-year-old could have changed the flow of the fight had he slowed Santos’ takedown game, the Brazilian threw just seven significant strikes on the floor despite earning four successful takedowns, according to a FightMetric report.

Meanwhile, Camozzi was active enough off his back to actually earn the fight in one judges’ mind, but the other two sided with his opponent, and he was handed a split-decision loss.

“I train like crazy,” Camozzi said. “I work hard in the gym. Just to come in here and hold on to me and not get to perform or put on the fight I want to is devastating. Now we go back to the drawing board.

“All I can say is I’m super frustrated. I want to fight.”

Adding to his frustration, Camozzi’s loss was his first fight of 2014, after a planned April matchup was canceled on fight week when planned opponent Andrew Craig was forced to withdraw from the bout after falling ill.

So now Camozzi awaits the UFC’s next call, but he’s struggling to patient in the process. In fact, if UFC officials are willing to accept his suggestion, Camozzi already has a date and opponent in mind: Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-5 MMA, 1-4 UFC) on Sept. 20 at UFC Fight Night 52 in Saitama, Japan.

“That’s a fighter that I’ve always liked,” Camozzi said. “He comes to fight. If (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva’s willing to, I would love to take that fight because I know that he’s got that Japanese fighting spirit, and he always comes to fight. Those are the things I like. Those are the things I want to give the fans.”

For complete coverage of UFC 175, check out the UFC Events section of the site.