For at least the seventh time in his professional career, Chidi Njokuani had missed weight ahead of UFC Vegas 104, leading to the card’s co-main event switching to a 172.25lb catchweight.
While the UFC might see the miss differently, as it was the veteran’s first miss in the promotion, it remained a staggering number. Brazil’s Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos however was happy to take the fight (and percentage of Njokuani’s purse no doubt).
Immediately Njokuani pressed forward landing multiple leg kicks early. A glancing front kick landed for Njokuani before an accidental foul for a low blow. When action resumed, Njokuani threw a stabbing front kick to the body. Dos Santos charged in with a glancing right hand that stumbled Njokuani. Both fighters briefly tumbled to the ground before scrambling back to their feet. Dos Santos shot in for a takedown attempt and landed another good left hook against the fence. The 6’3 Njokuani was extremely hard to take off his feet and showed tremendous balance and flexibility against the cage. Dos Santos was doing good work when he got inside, but when the fighters engaged at distance Njokuani had a significant advantage due to his length.
In round two, Njokuani came forward throwing multiple kicks to the legs and body of Dos Santos. A high kick from Njokuani barley missed as Dos Santos ducked under the strike. Dos Santos came forward landing a few hooks to the head, but the fight was stopped due to an eye poke. After Dos Santos recovered, Njokuani landed a few kicks to the body before the fight entered the clinch. Once in the clinch, Njokuani landed a viscous left knee to the chin of Dos Santos knocking him down instantly. Swarming on his injured opponent, Njokuani landed multiple elbows forcing referee Mark Smith to stop the fight.
Since moving down to welterweight, Njokuani is now 3-0 in the division and looks tremendous at this weight. If he can make the weight is a different story, in his post fight interview, Njokuani said he was not concerned about making the weight and want’s an opponent in the top fifteen next.
Official Result: Chidi Njokuani def. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos by TKO (knee and elbows), Round 2, 2:19
