“Worry about Thiago Santos and give yourself a chance. It’s a tall order for him. It’s gonna be a tough fight for him.”
He might be a massive underdog, but Daniel Cormier thinks Thiago Santos is in with a fighting chance against reigning light heavyweight king Jon Jones at UFC 239.
According to Cormier, whose only career blemish is a decision loss to Jones, Santos has to impose his will upon ‘Bones’ and ‘fight his fight’. Santos, like so many of Jones’ previous opponents, can’t afford to second-guess himself on fight night, Cormier says.
“I think Santos needs to go in there and fight his fight,” Cormier said in an interview with MMA Junkie Radio (transcript via Clyde Aidoo of MMA News). “Don’t think about what he has to do different than everybody else, what he needs to do to be better. Just fight your fight. Don’t worry about all that other stuff. All that other stuff is just white noise. Worry about Thiago Santos and give yourself a chance. It’s a tall order for him. It’s gonna be a tough fight for him.”
Although ‘DC’ thinks Santos has what it take to pull off the upset at UFC 239, the former Olympian was surprised by the height disparity on display at a recent pre-fight press conference and believes ‘Marretta’ is going to struggle with Jones’ height and reach advantage.
“I saw them standing face to face the other day, and I thought Santos was a little bigger,” Cormier said. “And he’s not as tall as I thought he was. And I think he’ll realize early how difficult it is to deal with Jones’s length.”
UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos takes place this Saturday, July 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.