Thiago Santos Elbows His Way To Score Third Round TKO Win Over Eryk Anders
Former middleweights Eryk Anders and Thiago “Marreta” Santos squared off last night (Saturday, September 22, 2018) in a light heavyweight bout from the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, live on Fox Sports 1 (FS1).
Santos, after a long run at middleweight, made a debut at 205 pounds last night in the main headliner where he faced short-notice replacement Eryk ‘Ya Boi’ Anders. The pair fought for three utterly hellacious rounds before Santos en route to the TKO victory.
Both fighters landed some heavy shots from the onsets in the early going with Anders tried to implement his grappling game. Santos got better in the second round hurled some big shots, while Anders also retaliates by landing some good strikes to stop Santos from getting reckless. Anders in the third round, attempt a takedown and pour in ground and pound game. But he seems fatigue visibly, and Santos took control towards the end of the third. Anders tried to attempt another takedown and pushed Santos against the fence, but that’s when the Brazilian started to launch hard elbows to the side of the head. Things got worse when a pair hit the mat, Santos landed series of elbows and shots on Anders’ face until then the horn sounded.
With the win Santos now 19-6. He has won two in straight in a row and six of his past seven. Anders (11-2) has now dropped two of his past three.
Santos wants Jimi Manuwa next for December showdown.
“I hope that [Manuwa] recovers well,” said Santos. “I hope to meet with him in December so we can fulfill the contract that we signed.
“I want to fight at 205 against a guy that’s bigger than me like Manuwa so I can feel the pressure from a heavier guy. To see if I get punched by that guy and I change my mind and go back to 185 or step up. So, we’ll see.”
Check out the highlights below:
