The UFC heads to the Czech Republic in February for UFC Prague for the third show on ESPN+ on February 23.
We now know the main event as it will be a pivotal light heavyweight clash between the No. 4 ranked contender, Poland’s Jan Blachowicz (23-7) and the very active and dangerous Brazilian, the No. 7 ranked Thiago “Marreta” Santos (20-6).
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1076197245496844289?s=12
For Marreta Santos, this will be the biggest fight of his career as far as rankings are concerned.
As one of the threats at 185-pounds in the middleweight division, Santos has since found his way up to light heavyweight after filling in on short notice at UFC Sao Paulo opposite Eryk Anders.
Getting the job done by third-round TKO, Santos was supposed to be stepping in to face Jimi Manuwa who would need a replacement himself after an injury of his own.
Thankfully, the fight was re-made for UFC 231 and boy did it deliver. Santos again would score a big win with the second-round knockout thus establishing himself as a threat in both divisions.
Next standing in his way will be the equally impressive as of late, Jan Blachowicz who is riding a solid four-fight winning streak of his own.
Both Blachowicz and Thiago Santos have proven to be extremely dangerous finishers throughout their careers so this fight should be a good bit of chaos for as long as it lasts. Especially as each tries to inch their ways that much closer into title contention in the open 205-pound landscape.
As for the rest of UFC Prague, it’s still slowly forming. Take a look below to see what’s currently in store (not all fights have been officially announced).
- Heavyweight – 207-265lbs: Stefan Struve vs Marcos Rogerio de Lima
- Light Heavyweight – 205lbs: Magomed Ankalaev vs Darko Stosic
- Flyweight – 125lbs: Liz Carmouche vs Lucie Pudilova
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 12/21/2018