The UFC has officially announced that Thiago Santos will step in to replace Glover Teixera as the main event of UFC Fight Night 137 in Sao Paulo Brazil on September 22nd. This will mark the first main event in the UFC career of Santos.
Thiago Santos has managed to win five of his last six bouts, typically in devastating fashion. All but one of these string of victories have come by way of KO/TKO, and eight of Santos’s ten UFC victories have had the same result. Most recently, Thiago Santos defeated Kevin Holland at UFC 227 in what was a showstealing contest. This main event will mark the light heavyweight debut of “Marreta,” so we will see if his sledgehammer power translates to the heavier division. Awaiting him will be another knockout artist in Jimi Manuwa, who will be looking to show Santos the difference in power between the two divisions.
Jimi Manuwa has 17 victories to his name, and only one of these victories came by judges’ decision. Manuwa has grown accustomed to standing over unconscious foes, including ranked opponents Ovince Saint Preux and Corey Anderson. Currently, however, Manuwa is on a two-fight losing streak, getting KOed himself by Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 214 and then losing to Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov. If you like to bet the under, then this is a fight you might want to pounce on when the lines are released.
With the main event now official, here is the current card for UFC Fight Night 137 (UFC Sao Paulo):
Main Event: Jimi Manuwa vs. Thiago Santos
Ketlen Vieira vs. Tonya Evinger
Sam Alvey vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Neil Magny vs. Alex Oliveira
Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Elias Theodorou
Evan Dunham vs. Francisco Trinaldo
Luis Henrique vs. Ryan Spann
Renan Barao vs. Andre Ewell
Sergio Moraes vs. Ben Saunders
Thales Leites vs. Hector Lombard
Belal Muhammad vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Alex Chambers vs. Livia Renata Souza
Who do you predict will win? Jimi Manuwa or Thiago Santos?
