Thiago Santos will be desperate for a victory when he faces fellow Brazilian Johnny Walker in the light heavyweight main event of a UFC Fight Night scheduled for the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Santos (21-9) is a former light heavyweight championship contender but comes into this match on the back of three straight losses. His last outing, at UFC 259 in March of this year, ended in a unanimous decision defeat to Aleksandar Rakic, and leaves the 37-year-old at risk of becoming an also-ran in the division.
The fighter known as ‘Marreta’ [Sledgehammer] is eager to prove that he still has major relevance in the Octagon: “I need to show to everyone who I am. I think my last fight I didn’t show who I am,” said Santos.
“This fight I want to show to everyone that I’m better than before my surgery [due to catastrophic knee injuries suffered in his title fight loss to Jon Jones in 2019]. I will try to finish the fight... show everyone that I deserve to get back to the title shot.”
He added, “I respect [Walker] as a fighter, as a person, but on fight day [there will be] no respect, no mercy. I will do my job. I will try to knock him out.
“I will kick him hard, I will hit him hard, I will bring pain to him and I will try to knock him out. I will do my job.
“I feel much better than my last fight. I feel more confident, more comfortable and I will use my experience and I will show to everyone.”
Walker (18-5) claimed a victory in his last fight, defeating Ryan Spann via first-round knockout in September 2020. The 29-year-old should have faced Jimmy Crute back in March of this year, but pulled out due to a torn pectoral muscle.
“I know what I have to improve and I just need a couple years to make those adjustments in order to be at a high level and be a champion, but I have the skills to fight against top contenders,” said Walker, who will see the chance to claim a major scalp such as Santos as a potential stepping stone to bigger things.
“I really believe in myself and that I have enough to fight against high level guys because I don’t want to fight guys who are not very good; I only want to fight against guys in the top 15.
“I know my skills are good enough to fight against these guys and every fight, you get better, you improve yourself, so I’m really calm about this.”
The main card opens with a women’s bantamweight clash which sees Aspen Ladd take on Macy Chiasson; followed by a middleweight battle between Misha Cirkunov and Krzysztof Jotko; Alex Oliveira facing Niko Price in a welterweight match; and a middleweight co-main event which pits Kevin Holland against Kyle Daukaus.
UFC Fight Night: Santos v Walker – Main card
- Main event: Light heavyweight: Thiago Santos v Johnny Walker
- Middleweight: Kevin Holland v Kyle Daukaus
- Welterweight: Alex Oliveira v Niko Price
- Middleweight: Misha Cirkunov v Krzysztof Jotko
- Women’s bantamweight: Aspen Ladd v Macy Chiasson