Thiago Santos and Jamahal Hill squared off in a Light Heavyweight contest earlier tonight (Sat., Aug. 6, 2022) from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following a back-and-forth war, Hill secured his third-straight knockout win.
Santos began the bout with a pair of low kicks. Hill pressed, firing fast jabs but failing to find his target early. Santos landed a counter hook and kicked the leg once more. Santos ducked into a real takedown attempt, working for a double along the fence. Hill managed to maintain his balance after an ankle pick attempt, and Santos continued to press him into the cage until a knee to the cup interrupted the action.
Back in the center, Santos released a string of kicks. Hill pressed forward undeterred and landed some jabs. Hill walked into a counter shot and a calf kick in the closing seconds of a competitive opening round.
Hill began the second with some low kicks of his own, and they landed to good effect. Santos stuck a couple jabs then finally ripped a body kick opposite the Southpaw. Santos exploded into a double leg immediately after the kick, but he couldn’t keep Hill down for more than a second or two. The fight devolved into chaos momentarily before the two settled back into the clinch.
When they returned to the center, Hill landed a nice right hook counter. Santos started swinging big, and he landed! Hill landed a high kick as Santos tried to spin, but the Brazilian somehow ate the strike. Hill scored with a hard hook, and Santos seemed to be the more tired man. He still fired a big four-punch combo, but Hill answered with a nice hook afterward. Hill landed more hard shots just before the bell, likely evening the score.
Hill ripped a couple hard kicks, but Santos landed a double leg takedown. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, Hill popped right back up. It happened again when Santos took him down with a single leg, as “Marreta” was too aggressive in chasing back mount. Hill sprawled out on the next takedown attempt, putting Santos in bad position and allowing Hill to land some short punches.
Santos wrestled into better position and completed another takedown. He actually scored a bit of control time on this shot, but Hill still worked up reasonably quickly. Santos’ takedowns were coming more easily, however, as he just kept dragging Hill back down in a display of strength. Hill did do well to land occasional knees and punches when he was able to get back to his feet.
It all made for a close round.
Both men were tired and trading low kicks to start the fourth. Hard 1-2 landed for Hill, answered by a jumping kick from Santos! Hill stung him again with another heavy 1-2, but again, Santos answered with some mean kicks. Hill caught Santos out of position and landed a huge left, prompting a wild exchange. Santos was hurt badly, and Hill didn’t want to let him off the hook. “Sweet Dreams” sent Santos to the mat, and despite the Brazilian’s best effort to stay in the fight, he eventually fell to his opponent’s onslaught.
Jamahal Hill is a special talent. Even deep in a grueling fight, Hill kept pressing and firing crisp, straight punches. He took some real shots, but Hill never seemed bothered by the heavy strikes coming his way.
Result: Jamahal Hill defeats Thiago Santos via fourth-round knockout
For complete UFC Vegas 59: “Santos vs. Hill” results and play-by-play, click HERE!