Mairon Santos initially felt victorious after his 15-minute bout against Francis Marshall at UFC 313 in March. However, upon reviewing the fight later, he concluded that his opponent had done enough to earn the victory.
Now competing at lightweight due to the short preparation time, the Ultimate Fighter 32 featherweight champion is set to face Sodiq Yusuff at UFC Vegas 106, where he is aiming for a more definitive outcome.
Santos commented on his last fight: “I’ve used that as evolution. I saw the mistakes and everything I did wrong in that fight, things I could have done right. Let’s move on and look at that as a lesson. At first, I was dwelling on that a lot because we know our potential and get more frustrated about that than the fact someone was better than you.”
He elaborated: “And I felt the poor performance was my fault, they were mistakes I made. I’m not taking anything away from the guy, he fought well, but I felt there were a lot of things I could have done better. I see this fight as a lesson. As a good lesson because I won. I’ve made the adjustments so I don’t make the same mistake again, so I can go out with a convincing victory this time.”
According to Santos, his primary issue entering the Marshall fight was an overconfidence in his striking ability. Having secured the TUF 32 crown with a second-round knockout victory just seven months prior, he mistakenly believed all he needed was a single punch to defeat Marshall.
“It was a lesson I learned, and for this fight, I’ll be doing new things that will definitely be good for me,” Santos stated. “I was happy when I saw I was going to fight Yusuff. Fighters always want the biggest challenges, regardless of the weight class. I was happy when they gave me that name because I also saw that the UFC is giving me a good opportunity despite the fact that my last fight wasn’t the greatest. I know my potential, and the UFC also sees that.”
Yusuff, also making his debut in the UFC`s lightweight division, is returning for his tenth promotional appearance after suffering a swift knockout loss over a year ago. He enters the fight following consecutive defeats against Diego Lopes and Edson Barboza.
“It has everything to be a great fight for me,” Santos predicted. “We always expect the knockout, so I’ll keep my word. I’ll knock him out in the second round. I didn’t respect my last opponent, and for this fight, I want to respect him but not respect him at the same time, if you know what I mean. My hand will land eventually. He walks forward and exposes himself a lot. I believe that favors me. My hope is that we’ll get the knockout in this fight — and finally a bonus.”
