Thiago Santos is once again taking a short-notice fight. This time, it’s to salvage the main event at UFC Sao Paulo next month.
Thiago Santos has been on quite a roll in the UFC’s middleweight division of late. Aside from a setback to David Branch at UFC Atlantic City, Santos has won five bouts since 2017, and that 5-1 stretch includes a win over Anthony Smith. Now, like Smith, Santos is heading up to light heavyweight. Only this time, it’s to bail out the UFC Sao Paulo card after Glover Teixeira was forced out due to injury. ESPN was first to report the news.
Santos (18-6) is coming off a win over Kevin Holland at UFC 227 that turned out to be an incredibly fun affair. It also got Santos back in the win column after the aforementioned loss to Branch.
Opposite Santos at UFC Sao Paulo (UFC Fight Night 137) will be Jimi Manuwa. Manuwa (17-4) has lost two straight, to Volkan Oezdemir and Jan Blachowicz. That leaves ‘Poster Boy’ desperately in need of a win to maintain his position in the top five of the UFC’s 205lb division.
Curiously, Anthony Smith, who is set to headline UFC Moncton in October, offered to step in against Manuwa. However, the UFC opted (wisely) not to sacrifice one main event for another, and went with Santos, who is a large middleweight. Santos as well has a reputation as someone the promotion can turn to for short notice bouts.
UFC Sao Paulo, a.k.a. UFC Fight Night 137, takes place September 22 at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
