London is the landing spot for UFC 286 on Saturday, with England’s own welterweight champion Leon Edwards in a rematch with former champ Kamaru Usman, as the pair closing out their trilogy. Outside of that, the card features a few Contender Series alumni debuting and an abundance of highly anticipated UFC debuts. Lerone Murphy was expected to fight Nathaniel Wood but Wood had to pull out. Filling in on short notice is LFA featherweight champion, Gabriel Santos.
Gabriel “Mosquitinho” Santos
Standing at five-foot-nine
Fighting at 145 lbs (featherweight)
26-years-old
Fighting out of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil
Training out of Evolução Thai MMA
A pro record of 10-0
3 KO/TKOs, 4 Submissions
What’s Santos’s ceiling in the UFC:
Santos has a quietly good resume. He has good wins over Jose Delano, Marcia Barbosa, and Elves Brener. He’s more of a Jiu-Jitsu guy but will go with the flow with however the fight goes. He’s comfortable everywhere and dangerous everywhere. He just won the LFA featherweight title in January and is now in the UFC.
On the feet Santos throws a lot of weapons. His hands, kicks, elbows, and knees— he uses it all. His striking is highlighted by his leg kicks and left hand. He’s dangerous on the feet with all the tools but he’s also vulnerable. He does get hit and doesn’t wear damage too well. His toughness should never be questioned because he can hang in there as shown in his fight with Barbosa.
