mma / News

Thiago Santos Still Wants a Fight With Jimi Manuwa

September 23, 2018 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas

Thiago Santos spoke following his win over Eryk Anders at UFC Fight Night 137 about possibly facing Jimi Manuwa and more. Highlights are below, per MMAjunkie:

On still wanting to face Jimi Manuwa: “I’m going to send him a message right now. I hope he recovers really well, and as soon as possible. And I hope to meet with him in December so we can fulfill the contract we signed.”

On fighting at light heavyweight: “So what’s most important is my health, regardless of fighting a guy who’s Jon Jones’ size or Alexander Gustafsson. But if I’m healthy, it’s going to be a war for them. They can expect that.”

On referee Marc Goddard restarting the fight after a shot knocked out Anders’ mouthpiece: “Eryk was holding the cage so he wouldn’t fall. So the ref pulled me apart and told me to come back. So I went and came back. I thought he was going to stop the fight, but he told me to continue. The whole time my trainers were talking about the time, and I knew it was almost up, so I tried to throw a lot of strikes so the fight would end, or he would finish the round hurt, and that’s what happened.”

On a possible permanent move to light heavyweight: “I got tired, but it’s normal to get tired in a fight as intense as that. But I felt conscious of whatever was happening. I felt power in my punches, but I was a little bit slower. So I’ll sit down with my coaches, and we’ll see what will be done. “If I get punched by that guy [Manuwa], and I change my mind and go back to 185 …we’ll see.”