A highly-intriguing Light Heavyweight showdown between former title contenders, Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira, is in the works to headline an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night event on Sept. 12, 2020.
That’s according to ESPN’s Brett Okamato, who says the final details are being ironed out before it becomes official.
Santos (No. 2) has been unable to compete in more than one year year, spending the last 12 months rehabilitating from an extensive surgery to repair a torn meniscus, ACL and MCL. Santos shredded his knee during his title fight against 205-pound kingpin, Jon Jones, at UFC 239 in July 2019. Despite the injuries, “Marreta” went the distance with “Bones,” losing by split decision.
Teixeira (No. 5), meanwhile, is having a career resurrection of sorts, reeling off four straight wins, which includes his one-sided beatdown of Anthony Smith in his last outing at UFC Fight Night 171 (see it here). Prior to that, “Hands of Stone” collected consecutive wins over Karl Roberson, Ion Cutelaba and Nikita Krylov.
Both men previously came up short in their respective bids to dethrone Jones from the top of the 205-pound ladder and are now looking for a shot at redemption. While Santos was lobbying for a fight against Dominick Reyes for the division title after “Bones” vowed to vacate his belt, he will have to get through at least one more big obstacle before he can start looking ahead to another title fight.
Early predictions?