UFC 267 was an important event regarding the status of the
light heavyweight divison.
After Glover
Teixeira took 205-pound gold from Jan
Blachowicz and Magomed
Ankalaev secured a dominant win against Volkan
Oezdemir in Abu Dhabi, the weight class appears to be wide open
for contenders like Thiago
Santos, who is coming off a win over Johnny
Walker at UFC Fight Night 193. For now, “Marreta” is simply
waiting for the promotion to call with a name and date.
“I would love to face [Jiri] Prochaska, He is the only Top 5
opponent I haven’t faced yet, but since the UFC announced that he
is the next No. 1 contender, I’m open to a few rematches,” Santos
said. “I’ve already defeated Blachowicz and Anthony
Smith via TKO, but it happened in 2018 and 2019, and I’m sure
they are totally different fighters today. Aleksandar
Rakic said I was an easy matchup, so I challenged him and he
did not answer back.”
Santos plans to return to action sometime between February and
March, and the Brazilian is also open to facing lower-ranked
opponents if that’s what the UFC offers.
“Dominick
Reyes had a great fight with Jon Jones and,
just like myself, many think he won,” Santos said. “I’m
sure we could provide a great fight for the fans as well as
Ankalaev, who just beat Oezdemir in an
impressive fashion.”
When asked to predict the favorite in the next light heavyweight
title bout, which is expected to be between Teixeira and Prochazka,
“Marreta” pointed to the newly-crowned champion.
“Prochazka has more knockout power and moves more than
Blachowicz, which may bring more challenges to Glover,” Santos
said. “On the other hand, the fact that he just walks forward
probably will make it easier for the champion to get his single leg
and take him down. And he is much less skilled in the ground game
than Blachowicz. I see Glover as the favorite.”
There could also be a newcomer in the division. Paulo Costa
was unable to make the middleweight limit for his recent loss to
Marvin
Vettori, and UFC president Dana White said that “Borrachinha”
will have to compete at 205 pounds going forward. If that holds
true, Santos thinks Costa could be in for a rude awakening.
“‘Borrachinha’ has a big name. He will probably arrive facing a Top
15 or Top 10 contender, but I think he should stay in the
middleweight division where his size and knockout power can be an
advantage,” Santos said. “Here at light heavyweight, his range and
knockout power will not be big advantage anymore. [Manager] Wallid
[Ismail] always says Costa can make 185 pounds, so he should stay
there.”
Santos also had a positive words regarding Jones, who he lost a
split decision against in a 2019 title bout. Jones hasn’t competed
since February 2020 and recently made headlines for an alleged
domestic violence incident involving his fiancee.
“Everybody has problems. I´m sure Jones will pass through that
hard moment of his life and return stronger than ever, no matter if
it’s at heavyweight or light heavyweight,” Santos said. “And that´s
my hope as a fan and colleague. Jones is a legend of the sport and
after seeing a guy like Glover, 42 years old, do what he
did, I´m sure Jones, who is only 34 years old, has a lot
to give to our sport yet.”