Mairon Santos had his arms raised after a 15-minute conflict with Francis Marshall again in March at UFC 313 and left the cage feeling like a winner. Upon rewatch, nevertheless, he thought his opponent had done enough to win.
Preventing as a light-weight this Saturday as a result of having a brief interval of preparation, The Final Fighter 32 featherweight winner faces Sodiq Yusuff on the lookout for a extra definitive victory at UFC Vegas 106.
“I’ve used that [fight] as evolution,” Santos advised MMA Preventing. “I noticed the errors and all the things I did improper in that struggle, issues I may have performed proper. Let’s transfer on and have a look at that as a lesson. At first I used to be brooding over that quite a bit as a result of we all know of our potential and get extra pissed off about that than the very fact somebody was higher than you.
“And I felt [the poor performance] was my fault, it had been errors I made. I’m not taking something away from the man, he fought effectively, however I felt there have been numerous issues I may have performed higher. I see this struggle as a lesson. As an excellent lesson as a result of I gained. I’ve made the changes so I don’t make the identical mistake once more, so I can exit with a convincing victory this time.”
Santos stated his greatest challenge going into the Marshall struggle was feeling over assured together with his arms. He had stopped Kaan Ofli 90 seconds within the second spherical to assert the TUF 32 crown seven months prior, and thought all he wanted was one punch to beat Marshall.
“It was a lesson I discovered, and for this struggle I’ll be doing new issues that may positively be good for me,” Santos stated. “I used to be blissful after I noticed I used to be going to struggle [Yusuff]. Fighters at all times need the largest challenges, whatever the weight class. I used to be blissful once they gave me that title as a result of I additionally noticed that the UFC is giving me an excellent alternative even if my final struggle wasn’t the best. I do know my potential, and the UFC additionally sees that.”
Yusuff, additionally making his UFC light-weight debut, enters the octagon for the tenth time in his return to motion somewhat over a 12 months after a fast knockout loss, placing his again towards the wall following consecutive defeats to Brazil’s Diego Lopes and Edson Barboza.
“It has all the things to be an amazing struggle for me,” Santos stated. “We at all times count on the knockout, so I’ll preserve my phrase. I’ll knock him out within the second spherical. I didn’t respect my final opponent, and for this struggle I wish to respect him however not respect him on the similar time, if what I imply. My hand will land finally. He walks ahead and exposes himself quite a bit. I imagine that favors me. My hope is that we’ll get the knockout on this struggle — and at last a bonus [laughs].”
