Former middleweight standout Thiago Santos made it three in a row at light heavyweight earlier today (Sat., Feb. 23, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 3 live on ESPN+ from inside O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, when he finished No. 5-ranked Jan Blachowicz via third-round TKO in a crucial main event showdown.
While Blachowicz did most of the forward moving in this fight, “Marreta” was able to stand his ground with whipping leg and oblique kicks. During an exchange along the cage in the third round, Santos landed a short right hook counter followed by an immediate power left that put Blachowicz down. Santos followed his efforts up with countless hammer fists (some of which were blocked) before referee Herb Dean stepped in for the stoppage.
Check out the highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
After his 11th UFC knockout, @TMarretaMMA is tied with Anderson Silva and Anthony Johnson for second most all-time #UFCPrague pic.twitter.com/lJPZCN4TFt
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 23, 2019
With this performance, Santos locks down his third-straight finish at 205 pounds and proves yet again that he’s even better as a light heavyweight. The imposing Brazilian finisher seems to be able to stop opponents whenever he turns up the heat, so it will be interesting to see what “Marreta” can do as he further climbs the light heavyweight ladder.
For complete UFC Prague results and coverage click here.
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