On Saturday, Thiago Santos will face Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title.
Back in December, Santos caught the attention of many, when he had an absolutely thrilling fight with Jimi Manuwa, at UFC 231.
Full report from fight night, via Cole Henry:
(7) Jimi Manuwa vs. Thiago Santos (Light-heavyweight/205)
Favorite: Even
Round 1: Santos lands early and Manuwa is down! Santos attacks with a guillotine but Manuwa rolls through it. Manuwa is composing himself against the fence but Santos creates separation and is forcing Manuwa to work. Manuwa lands a right hand as they briefly separate. Manuwa lands a hard jab and Santos didn’t like it! We have a fight here folks. Santos scores with a takedown but Manuwa is right back up. They are trading big blows here! Both guys are staggered! Santos secures a clinch and he is landing some knees against the fence. They separate, and Santos lands some hard shots! My god this is crazy! Manuwa has Santos down on the mat with 10 seconds left. Wow what a round. They were both guy several times in that round and it could go either way but Manuwa ended the round on top position, so I will give it to him. 10-9 Manuwa
Round 2: Santos lands a big knee and Manuwa is hurt! Manuwa is swinging back but Santos is tagging him with some well-placed strikes! It was an uppercut that hurt Manuwa and then a left hook that dropped him. Santos landed a few shots on the ground, but it was over with by that point. Thiago Santos was good at middleweight, but he is a killer at 205.
Result: Thiago Santos def. Jimi Manuwa via KO (Punches) Round 2, 0:42
Analysis: Well that was an incredible fight. Santos was swinging for the fences from the beginning and Manuwa was just trying to get a grip at first. At some point though he just started swinging as well and wow what a fight that was. Santos appears to have a very bright future at light-heavyweight.
WATCH THE FULL FIGHT HERE:
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