Thiago Santos Claims Jimi Manuwa Turned Him Down For UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo

Jimi Manuwa was left without an opponent for the main event of UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo after Glover Teixeira withdrew from the card due to a shoulder injury.

Thiago Santos, who was last seen in action against Kevin Holland at UFC 227, apparently threw his name into the hat for a short notice opportunity against Manuwa.

However, it would appear that Manuwa isn’t very interested in the fight because Santos claims the British slugger turned the opportunity down.

Santos made this known via Twitter, claiming that Manuwa is avoiding him to not suffer a third straight loss in the UFC. 

The middleweight contender had been making waves about moving up a weight class to light heavyweight in the future, but it would appear that the move won’t be happening this September.

Manuwa still has no opponent for the main event of UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo, which is about five weeks away from taking place.

UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo takes place on Saturday, September 22 from the Ibirapueroa Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil with Jimi Manuwa and an opponent to be announced headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox Sports 1.