“Marreta” was coming back to action after a 16-month layoff, which included surgeries in both knees after a close split decision defeat to then-champion Jon Jones, when he agreed to take on longtime veteran Glover Teixeira in a five-round clash on Nov. 7.
Santos rocked and dropped Teixeira early in the first round at the UFC APEX, but wasn’t able to stop his takedowns. “Marreta” was saved by the bell in the second stanza after Teixeira had him in a rear-naked choke, and once again rocked the fellow Brazilian in the third before ultimately tapping to a choke later in that round.
The Rio de Janeiro-native released a short statement on his social media Sunday, expressing gratitude to his team of coaches and apologizing for his performance.
“I’m totally disappointed and embarrassed by my performance, I didn’t do anything I trained, I choked, I wasn’t the fighter I am,” Santos wrote in Portuguese. “I apologize to my coaches and team and thank everyone for their effort, you’re great.
“Thank you all for always being by my side. I’m sorry for letting you down this time. Thank you God for absolutely everything in my life. I’m more than blessed and I don’t even know if I deserve so much, my faith in you is unshakable.”
Santos, who once competed as a welterweight on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 in 2013 and started his UFC run as a middleweight, was 3-0 in the 205-pound weight class before challenging “Bones” in July 2019.
Teixeira is hoping to be next in line for newly crowned light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz after securing his fifth straight victory in the octagon, which includes a fifth-round stoppage over Anthony Smith.
{feed:enclosure_href }
More...
