Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Two
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters on a combined 20-fight
unbeaten streak are coming to blows at lightweight in March. On Wednesday, Grant
Dawson (16-1) posted on Instagram that he
had news of his new opponent, hinting that his prospective foe was
unbeaten in the promotion.
MMA Junkie revealed hours later that this opponent was Leonardo
Santos (18-3-1), and that the two would be squaring off at 155
pounds at the
UFC Fight Night card on March 20.
“Contract signed,” Dawson wrote. “He’s
undefeated in the UFC. And his run is coming to an end. Fight News
coming soon!”
Dawson fought twice in 2020, tapping out Darrick
Minner in February and capturing a unanimous verdict over
Nad
Narimani a few months later. Getting signed off the first
season of Dana White’s Contender Series, “KGD” landed a
submission on Adrian Diaz
to earn a contract. The Glory MMA & Fitness fighter has won four
times inside the Octagon, and he sports a finish rate of 87 percent
with a majority of those stoppages by submission.
Santos has not suffered a loss since 2009, and since then, he has
notched 12 victories and a draw along the way. Since his 2014 draw
to Norman
Parke, the Brazilian has only competed six times, but he has
won all six. The 40-year-old out of
Nova Uniao posts a first-round knockout win over Kevin Lee, and
a second-round submission of Anthony
Rocco Martin as well. His last appearance came in July 2020,
when he took home a decision against then-undefeated Roman
Bogatov.
The UFC Fight Night card on March 20 will likely go down at the UFC
Apex in Las Vegas or in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The
headliner sees a middleweight grudge match between Derek
Brunson and Kevin
Holland. Other key matchups on the card include Paul Craig
vs. Jamahal
Hill at light heavyweight, and Trevin
Giles vs. Dricus Du
Plessis in the middleweight division.
