Thiago Santos Still Wants To Fight Jimi Manuwa

Thiago Santos headlined UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo 2018, defeating Eryk Anders via third round TKO.

The Brazilian was supposed to fight Jimi Manuwa at the event, but Manuwa was pulled from the card due to injury and Santos now wants to make that lost fight happen.

“I’m going to send him a message right now,” Santos said after the event. “I hope he recovers really well, and as soon as possible. And I hope to meet with him in December so we can fulfill the contract we signed.”

Santos himself was a replacement for the injured Glover Teixeira and was also making his light heavyweight debut in this encounter.

Although Santos was tired at the end of the three round war, a future discussion with his coaches will determine what the future holds at 205 pounds.

“I got tired, but it’s normal to get tired in a fight as intense as that,” Santos said. “But I felt conscious of whatever was happening. I felt power in my punches, but I was a little bit slower. So I’ll sit down with my coaches, and we’ll see what will be done.”

Manuwa has yet to respond to the request made by Santos, but the fighters injury is expected to keep him out of action for a few weeks.