Thiago
Santos is the only man to knock out Jan
Blachowicz in his 16-bout UFC career, so he knows a little
something about what it takes to beat the reigning light
heavyweight champion.
Santos, who suffered a submission loss to Glover
Teixeira last November, spoke to Sherdog.com about the light
heavyweight title bout between Blachowicz and Teixeira at UFC
267.
“I´ve already faced both,” Santos said. “Blachowicz evolved a lot
after our fight in 2019, and the champion is always the favorite.
If I had to bet, I would say it´s 60/40 in favor of Jan. But if
Glover repeats the game plan he used against myself, mixing
striking and takedowns, he will confound Blachowicz and take his
belt.
Santos believes Teixeira’s wrestling and grappling could be the
difference in the title fight for the Brazilian veteran.
“The fight starts standing, and Blachowicz is a superior striker,
but Glover is way superior on takedowns and also in the ground
game,” Santos said. “If he takes Jan down and pressures him, just
like he did to me, he can get him tired to submit him or impose his
will through boxing in case it returns to the standup.”
“Marreta” helped Blachowicz when he was preparing to face Luke
Rockhold in 2019, but even with that history, Santos doesn’t
hide the fact that he is rooting for Teixeira.
“Glover sets an example as a person and fighter. He is a real
samurai who always respects his opponent,” Santos said. “He
deserves to finish his career with the gold at 42 years old, and
I´ll be cheering for him on Saturday. But the only certainly is
that it will be a great fight.”