Jimi Manuwa vs Thiago Santos set for UFC: Sao Paulo main event
With Glover Teixeira being forced out of a main event clash with Jimi Manuwa through injury, the UFC have acted quickly to replace one Brazilian heavy hitter with another.
According to ESPN, the #5 ranked light heavyweight Manuwa will take on Thiago Santos in his 205 lbs debut on the September 22nd.
‘Marreta’ had originally claimed through social media that Manuwa had turned down the fight with the Brazilian but the bout is reportedly signed off on by both fighters.
Manuwa (17-4) is currently on a two-fight losing streak after suffering defeats to Jan Blachowicz and Volkan Oezdemir. Since signing with the UFC in 2012, the London-born fighter has gone 6-4 in his promotional tenure and has won 15 of his 17 career victories via KO.
Santos (18-6) meanwhile has gone 5-1 in his last six fights and most recently returned to the win column with a unanimous decision win against Kevin Holland at UFC 227.
UFC: Sao Paulo is currently scheduled to feature:
- Jimi Manuwa vs. Thiago Santos
- Ketlen Vieira vs. Tonya Evinger
- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Sam Alvey
- Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Elias Theodorou
- Renan Barao vs. Andre Ewell
- Alex Oliveira vs. Neil Magny
- Sergio Moraes vs. Ben Saunders
- Thales Leites vs. Hector Lombard
- Francisco Trinaldo vs. Evan Dunham
- Elizeu Zaleski vs. Belal Muhammad
- Livia Renata Souza vs. Alex Chambers
- Luiz Henrique vs. Ryan Spann