For Thiago Santos, his UFC Vegas 50 main event was the perfect opportunity to get back on a win streak and prove he still had what it takes to be a legit challenger for the light heavyweight title. Instead, he suffered another lackluster loss to Magomed Ankalaev in a bout that was best described as largely uneventful and mostly devoid of entertainment.
The judges gave the fight to Ankalaev 49-46, 49—46, and 48-47, putting the Dagestani fighter on an eight fight win streak. But it won’t have made him many new fans.
As for Santos, he drops to 1-3 since a split decision loss to Jon Jones in 2019. Losses to Glover Teixeira, Alexander Rakic were followed up with a cautious but winning display over Johnny Walker. And now this loss to Magomed Alkalaev.
Following the defeat, Santos took to social media with a statement.
No words about yesterday, no excuses, another hard and painful defeat.
Still, my faith in God remains unshakable and my gratitude to him, my family, my friends, coaches and true fans only increases, thank you for everything. pic.twitter.com/VGbOyuyOAC— Thiago Marreta (@TMarretaMMA) March 13, 2022
“No words about yesterday, no excuses, another hard and painful defeat,” he wrote. “Still, my faith in God remains unshakable and my gratitude to him, my family, my friends, coaches and true fans only increases, thank you for everything.”
Thiago Santos’ early UFC years were marked by action packed brawls that saw “Marreta” earn 11 knockout victories en route to a title shot against Jon Jones … a split decision defeat that some fans feel the Brazilian should have won. But following that fight serious knee injuries slowed Santos down and he hasn’t seemed like the same monster in the cage since. Let’s hope he figures out how to get his groove back.