Thiago Santos predicts knockout with hammerfists against Steve Bosse at UFC Fight Night 70

Steve Bosse will finally make his UFC debut this Saturday, but Brazilian middleweight Thiago Santos plans on ruining his night at UFC Fight Night 70.

The Canadian talent had his UFC debut delayed due to an injury, a sudden retirement and the Quinton Jackson–Fabio Maldonado mess at UFC 186, and Santos told MMAFighting.com he expects Bosse to suffer with ring rust when he steps inside the Octagon for the first time.

“Ring rust is a serious issue,” Santos said of his opponent’s inactivity, with only one MMA fight since 2012. “You lose rhythm when you don’t fight for a long time, so I expect that to be a problem for him.”

“But that doesn’t mean the fight is already won, or that it’s going to be an easy fight,” he continued. “That’s a disadvantage for him because I’ve been fighting and training hard, so that makes the difference.”

Coming off a first-round TKO over Andy Enz at UFC 183, Santos believes Bosse will look for a stand-up war.

“He has a 10-1 record with eight knockouts, so he’s a striker like me, who always goes for the finish,” he said. “He walks straight forward, I know that, and I really hope he comes. I’m ready for that.”

Santos entered his last UFC bout with a 1-2 UFC record following a loss to Uriah Hall and says he was under pressure, but not from the promotion.

“I was not in a critical situation because I signed a new contract with the UFC after my loss to Hall,” Santos said. “Wins are important, of course, but you have to put on great shows, and my fight with Hall was exciting for the fans. It was a close fight, too.”

“I had no pressure from the UFC in this fight, but I had the pressure I put on myself,” he continued. “I don’t like to go the distance, and I wanted another knockout for old times’ sake. I missed that, I missed knocking people out.”

Known as “Marreta” in Brazil (“Hammer”, in Portuguese), Santos expects to honor that nickname when he stops Bosse in Hollywood.

“Ground and pound, hammerfirst. He will be on his back eventually, and that’s when I’m going to finish him with hammerfists,” he said. “That’s what I’m going after in this fight. I trained hard and I will go for the knockout. I’m confident that another knockout is coming.”

Headlined by Lyoto Machida vs. Yoel Romero, UFC Fight Night 70 takes place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and airs live on Fox Sports 1.

Steve Bosse will finally make his UFC debut this Saturday, but Brazilian middleweight Thiago Santos plans on ruining his night at UFC Fight Night 70.

The Canadian talent had his UFC debut delayed due to an injury, a sudden retirement and the Quinton Jackson–Fabio Maldonado mess at UFC 186, and Santos told MMAFighting.com he expects Bosse to suffer with ring rust when he steps inside the Octagon for the first time.

“Ring rust is a serious issue,” Santos said of his opponent’s inactivity, with only one MMA fight since 2012. “You lose rhythm when you don’t fight for a long time, so I expect that to be a problem for him.”

“But that doesn’t mean the fight is already won, or that it’s going to be an easy fight,” he continued. “That’s a disadvantage for him because I’ve been fighting and training hard, so that makes the difference.”

Coming off a first-round TKO over Andy Enz at UFC 183, Santos believes Bosse will look for a stand-up war.

“He has a 10-1 record with eight knockouts, so he’s a striker like me, who always goes for the finish,” he said. “He walks straight forward, I know that, and I really hope he comes. I’m ready for that.”

Santos entered his last UFC bout with a 1-2 UFC record following a loss to Uriah Hall and says he was under pressure, but not from the promotion.

“I was not in a critical situation because I signed a new contract with the UFC after my loss to Hall,” Santos said. “Wins are important, of course, but you have to put on great shows, and my fight with Hall was exciting for the fans. It was a close fight, too.”

“I had no pressure from the UFC in this fight, but I had the pressure I put on myself,” he continued. “I don’t like to go the distance, and I wanted another knockout for old times’ sake. I missed that, I missed knocking people out.”

Known as “Marreta” in Brazil (“Hammer”, in Portuguese), Santos expects to honor that nickname when he stops Bosse in Hollywood.

“Ground and pound, hammerfirst. He will be on his back eventually, and that’s when I’m going to finish him with hammerfists,” he said. “That’s what I’m going after in this fight. I trained hard and I will go for the knockout. I’m confident that another knockout is coming.”

Headlined by Lyoto Machida vs. Yoel Romero, UFC Fight Night 70 takes place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and airs live on Fox Sports 1.