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Addressing his highly awaited UFC return, top-ranked UFC light heavyweight fighter Thiago Santos opened up on the long road back to recovery during a UFC Vegas 13 media scrum.
Santos, who’s coming off a lengthy layoff since his last MMA bout, revealed that there were times during his layoff when he felt he’d never fight again. Thiago Santos’ last UFC matchup was a closely contested bout against then-UFC light heavyweight Champion Jon Jones at UFC 239 in July of 2019.
Certain sections of the combat sports community believed that Santos did more than enough to earn the judges’ nod against Jones and win the UFC light heavyweight Championship.
Nevertheless, the judges’ official scorecards ended up being a split decision verdict in favor of Jones who retained his UFC light heavyweight belt after the five-round war against Santos.
Santos suffered a torn left LCL, PCL, MCL, meniscus, and a cracked tibia; as well as a partially torn right ACL.
The Brazilian KO artist subsequently received a considerable amount of praise for his performance against one of the greatest fighters in MMA history, Jon Jones, despite having suffered the aforesaid injuries during the fight.
Needless to say, Thiago Santos was coerced to undergo an intensive recovery and rehabilitation program before he’d be permitted to return to active MMA competition.
Thiago Santos addressed the mental aspect of his recovery
Thiago Santos was initially scheduled to make his UFC comeback against Glover Teixeira in September of this year, but the fight ended up being postponed due to Teixeira contracting COVID-19 a week before the fight.
Furthermore, their second scheduled booking was set to go ahead in the month of October until Santos himself tested positive for COVID-19. This resulted in the fight being postponed yet again.
Regardless, Santos and Teixeira are now set to face one another at UFC Vegas 13 on November 7th, 2020, at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Thiago Santos weighed in on his comeback after spending a significant amount of time on the sidelines. Marreta explained that he faced several challenges ahead of his upcoming return to the Octagon.
“I learned how to overcome, you know?”
"Sometimes I felt I was never going to fight again, but I survived about everything, about hard times. Now, I feel 100 percent."
Moreover, Santos noted that he’s been training himself not only physically but also mentally, in order to overcome the fear of reinjuring his knee and to regain his confidence.
Thiago Santos continued by stating that he’s excited to return to the Octagon after being away for so long. However, he is well aware that he ought to control his emotions during the fight.
What are your views on Thiago Santos’ statements? Sound off in the comments.
