Thiago Santos de Lima is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who is professionally known as Thiago Santos is currently competing in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He rose to fame for fighting in the UFC’s middleweight division. He won Fight of the Night for the first time in February 2018 during UFC Fight Night in his victory against Anthony Smith. He first trained in capoeira for eight years prior to beginning his MMA training whereas he also served in the Brazilian army paratrooper unit. Santos finished as a quarterfinalist during The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 in 2013 and earned the Performance of the Night honor for his second time in February 2017 at UFC Fight Night. Moreover, Thiago is currently #5 in the UFC Light Heavyweight rankings as of September 2021. He faced Johnny Walker on 2nd October 2021 at UFC Fight Night 193 and won the fight via unanimous decision.
Thiago Santos bounces back with a unanimous decision over Johnny Walker
Thiago Santos is an explosive light heavyweight. So is Johnny Walker. Neither showed that on Saturday night. Circumstances were stacked against them both. Santos, who won a unanimous decision in the UFC Fight Night main event in Las Vegas, came into the fight with 15 knockouts in 21 career wins. But he had not posted one of those wins since 2019, and three straight defeats had the 37-year-old Brazilian in desperate need of a victory, however, it might come. So he fought cautiously. Santos, and to a lesser extent Walker, produced something to build on, even if there wasn’t a flashy knockdown at the end. But there’s more building to do.
“He’s unpredictable, you know?” Santos said of his performance after the fight. “Two weeks before, I cut my face when my partner threw an elbow. I trained hard. It’s hard to be close to him, he’s big but he moves fast and he’s dangerous.”
Source: @mmafighting
Famous For
- Being a Brazilian mixed martial artist.
- For competing in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Where is Thiago Santos from?
Thiago Santos stepped for the very first time into the world on 7th January 1984 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He took birth with the real name of Thiago Santos de Lima in the Christian religious family. He holds Brazilian nationality and belongs to Brazilian-white ethnicity. Thiago’s present age is 37 which he celebrated recently in 2021. Thus, his race is white and his star sign is Capricorn. Santos has not revealed any information about his parents.
What does Thiago Santos do for a living?
- Thiago Santos kicks off his career being trained in capoeira for eight years and was a Brazilian army paratrooper whereas he made his professional MMA debut in October 2010. Before joining The Ultimate Fighter, he had a record of 8 wins and only 1 loss.
- It was announced in March 2003 that he was part of the cast of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2. He defeated Gil Freitas by the majority decision to get into the TUF house.
- In the quarterfinals, he faced eventual season winner Leonardo Santos and lost via unanimous decision.
- Then he was signed to a contract by the UFC and made his debut on 3rd August 2013, at UFC 163 against The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil winner Cezar Ferreira. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.
- He faced Ronny Markes on 23rd March 2014, at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2, and won the fight via TKO in the first round.
- He faced Uriah Hall at UFC 175 but he lost the fight via unanimous decision.
- He next faced Andy Enz on 30th January 2015, at UFC 183. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.
- On 27th June 2015, he faced Andy Enz at UFC 183 and won the fight via TKO in the first round. In the June of the following year, he faced promotional newcomer Steve Bosse and won the fight by knockout in the first round and earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus.
- He won the fight against Elias Theodorou on 10th December 2015, at UFC Fight Night 80 by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, and 29-27).
- He faced Nate Marquardt on 14th May 14, 2016, at UFC 198 and won the fight via knockout in the first round.
- He won the fight against Jack Marshman on 19th February 2017, at UFC Fight Night 105 via TKO in the second round due to a combination of a spinning heel kick and punches and picked up a “Performance of the Night” bonus award.
- Later he was briefly linked to a bout with promotional newcomer Michał Materla on 21st October 2017, at UFC Fight Night 118 however, he was removed from the card and faced Jack Hermansson a week later at UFC Fight Night 119. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one.
- He faced Anthony Smith on 3rd February 2018, at UFC Fight Night 125, and won the fight via technical knockout in round two. This win earned him the Fight of the Night bonus.
- On 21st April 2018, he faced David Branch at UFC Fight Night 128 but he lost the fight via knockout in round one.
- He faced promotional newcomer Kevin Holland on 4th August 2018, at UFC 227. He won the fight by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, and 29-26).
- Additionally, on 22nd September 2018, Thiago was scheduled to face Jimi Manuwa in a light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 137, replacing injured Glover Teixeira.
- Manuwa would also pull out of the bout on 16th September 2018 due to a torn hamstring and he was replaced by Eryk Anders. Santos defeated Anders via referee stoppage TKO when Anders failed to make it to his corner at the conclusion of round three. This win earned him the “Fight of the Night” award.
- On 8th December 2018, he faced Jimi Manuwa and won by KO in the early 2nd round which helps to earn him the “Performance of the Night” award, and tied for the most bout in a calendar year with 5.
- He won the fight against Jan Błachowicz on 23rd February 2019, at UFC Fight Night 145 by TKO in the third round. This win earned him the “Performance of the Night” award.
- Thiago challenged Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in the main event at UFC 239 on 6th July 2019. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Despite the loss, he was the first fighter in MMA history to win a judge’s scorecard against Jones.
- On 12th September 2020, he was scheduled to Glover Teixeira at UFC Fight Night 177. However, due to Teixeira tested positive for COVID-19 a week prior to the bout, the pair was rescheduled to fight on 4th October 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana.
- In turn, on 15th September the bout was postponed again as Santos himself tested positive for the virus. The pairing with Teixeira eventually took place on 7th November 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira. Despite nearly finishing Teixeira on a couple of occasions. Santos lost the fight via submission (rear-naked choke) in round three.
- He then fight against Aleksandar Rakic on 6th March 2021 at UFC 259. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
- Recently, Santos faced Johnny Walker on 2nd October 2021 at UFC Fight Night 193 and won the fight via unanimous decision.
Source: @instagram.com/tmarretamma
Awards and Achievements
Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (Four times) vs. Jack Marshman, Steve Bosse, Jimi Manuwa, and Jan Błachowicz
- Fight of the Night (Two times) vs. Anthony Smith and Eryk Anders
- Tied for most UFC bouts in a calendar year (5).
- Tied for most knockout victories in UFC Middleweight division history (eight) with Anderson Silva & Uriah Hall.
MMATorch.com
- 2015 Best Knockout of the Half-Year vs. Steve Bosse
MMAjunkie.com
- 2018 Round of the Year (Round 1) vs. Jimi Manuwa
- 2018 December Fight of the Month vs. Jimi Manuwa
- 2018 Under-the-Radar Fighter of the Year
Is Thiago Santos Married?
Thiago Santos is a married guy. He is in a relationship with fellow UFC athlete, Yana Kunitskaya. The pair got engaged in December 2020, and in August of 2021, Kunitskaya announced that they were expecting their first child together. The two are soon to be married.
Source: @instagram.com/tmarretamma
Talking about Thiago’s sexual orientation, he is straight. Furthermore, Santos is believed to be married previously as he has a son from his past relationship. He has also posted the photo of his son on his Instagram but has never talked about his wife.
Source:@instagram.com/tmarretamma
What is the Net Worth of Thiago Santos?
Thiago Santos has a net worth of $5 million as of 2021. He is expected to earn $100,000 as base salary while the earning from sponsorship could be $21,000. It is believed that his income and net worth is increasing significantly in recent times. Currently signed to UFC, his total UFC earning is reported $1,234,600, made through 18 bouts. He was scheduled to fight with Jimi Manuwa on 8th December 2018, who earned about $120 thousand at UFC 214. Santos has an endorsement deal with Venum, which manufactures UFC apparel and equipment. He also keeps posting the products on his Instagram. Santos might be earning good with the deal. In addition, his major source of income is his MMA career.
How tall is Thiago Santos?
Thiago Santos is 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall and his body weighs around 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st). He has good-looking short black hair and dark brown eyes color. He has inked several tattoos on his body which has attracted a lot of people towards him. Thiago’s body build type is athletic.
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