Thiago Santos departs from UFC, signs with PFL for 2023 season
It has come to our attention that former UFC light-heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos will compete outside the ZUFFA umbrella for the first time since 2012, as he parts ways with the UFC and signs with PFL.
Santos has been a staple of the UFC’s middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions for years now, and he even competed in the welterweight division for his stint on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil II, making 171 lbs. four separate times whilst on the show.
Santos has competed at 205 lbs. for four years now however, and that’s where he’ll remain during this stint in his new home.
It’s been declared that his contract with the UFC was nearing its end, and the two decided to part ways, resulting in his recent signing with PFL, where he’ll debut in the 2023 season.
Thiago Santos Career Summary
Santos came to the UFC with a record of 8-1, only ever having lost to Vicente Luque.
Following a 1-2 start to his UFC tenure, Santos would win his next four-straight, three via knockout, before being finished in back-to-back outings. He then went on another four-fight win streak, all four victories coming via knockout, the latter three over Gerald Meerschaert, Jack Hermansson, and Anthony Smith.
Following a knockout loss to former WSOF champ-champ (185 & 205) David Branch, Santos would defeat Kevin Holland before moving up to the light-heavyweight division, where he rattled off three-straight victories, one of which came via knockout over future champion Jan Blachowicz.
With this third-straight victory in his new division (three knockouts), and fourth-straight overall, Santos was granted a title shot against the man many declare to be the greatest ever, Jon Jones.
Though he’d tear all four ligaments in his left knee early on in the contest, Santos arguably defeated Jones in that fight, losing via split decision. He’s to this day the only man to ever defeat Jones on a judge’s scorecard.
But, Santos has fallen pretty hard since then. He returned 16 months later, following his knee surgery, and he’s since gone 1-4. However, in three of those defeats to another future, now former champion Glover Teixeira, and fellow top contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Jamahal Hill, he didn’t exactly look bad.
Santos hurt Ankalaev a couple times throughout their five-round encounter, and he was giving Hill a hard time earlier on in their fight as well, despite being 38 years old. Also, he hurt and dropped Teixeira a handful of times in their fight prior to being submitted.
Santos has proven he’s still one of the most dangerous light-heavyweights in the sport, and he should liven the PFL’s light-heavyweight division up a bit. The Professional Fighters League has really accumulated some good talent over the last couple seasons.
They also just recently picked up another UFC veteran in top featherweight contender Shane Burgos, who looks to compete at 145 lbs in a non-tournament bout later this year, before debuting at lightweight for the 2023 season.
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