Thiago Santos will be looking to rediscover his fight-ending ways tomorrow night (Sat., Aug. 6, 2022) at UFC Vegas 59 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, when “Marreta” takes on streaking light heavyweight contender Jamahal Hill in the main event. It will mark the third-straight time that Santos is headlining a UFC Fight Night event.
Despite his recent main event bids Santos hasn’t had the best of luck inside of the Octagon. In fact, the veteran fighter has lost four out of his last five trips to the cage. His only win in the last three years came against Johnny Walker at UFC Vegas 38 back in 2021. His last finish came against Jan Blachowicz all the way back in Feb. 2019. Needless to say, Santos is entering a must-win situation this weekend against Hill.
Luckily, “Marreta” is fully prepared for his seventh overall UFC main event and believes he will be able to position himself for an early finish over Hill. If not, Santos is happy to drag the young contender to deep water and break him down over the course of five rounds.
“I’m totally prepared,” said Santos during a recent interview with Super Lutas (h/t Bloody Elbow). “This is the home stretch. I’ve had an excellent camp. The best one since my fight with Jones. I feel ready for this fight. Sure, a fight is a fight and I can’t make any mistakes. He has heavy hands and long reach. I can’t blink. In our division, one shot can change everything. Technically, though, I see myself as the better fighter. More experienced than him, too.
“He’s going to come at me, he’s going to try to pressure me from the start.” said Santos. ”He’ll end up leaving some openings upon which I will capitalize. If I don’t finish the fight within two rounds, he’ll suffer for five rounds. That much I can say.”
Hill has looked like a bona fide title contender of late so Santos will certainly have his hands full. That said, “Sweet Dreams” has never faced a fighter as seasoned and as powerful as Santos so the Brazilian will certainly have a few advantages when the cage door shuts this weekend in Vegas.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 59 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 59 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archives here and here. For the updated and finalized “Santos vs. Hill” fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ lineup click here.