Written by Mairon Santos | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Mairon Santos had his hands raised after a 15-minute clash with Francis Marshall back in March at UFC 313 and left the cage feeling like a winner. Upon rewatch, however, he thought his opponent had done enough to win.
Fighting as a lightweight this Saturday due to having a short period of preparation, The Ultimate Fighter 32 featherweight winner faces Sodiq Yusuff looking for a more definitive victory at UFC Vegas 106.
“I’ve used that [fight] as evolution,” Santos told MMA Fighting. “I saw the mistakes and everything I did wrong in that fight, things I could have done right. Let’s move on and look at that as a lesson. At first I was brooding over that a lot because we know of our potential and get more frustrated about that than the fact someone was better than you.
“And I felt [the poor performance] was my fault, it were mistakes I made. I’m not taking anything away from the guy, he fought well, but I felt there were a lot of things I could have done better. I see this fight as a lesson. As a good lesson because I won. I’ve made the adjustments so I don’t make the same mistake again, so I can go out with a convincing victory this time.”
Santos said his biggest issue going into the Marshall fight was feeling over confident with his hands. He had stopped Kaan Ofli 90 seconds in the second round to claim the TUF 32 crown seven months prior, and thought all he needed was one punch to beat Marshall.
“It was a lesson I learned, and for this fight I’ll be doing new things that will definitely be good for me,” Santos said. “I was happy when I saw I was going to fight [Yusuff]. Fighters always want the biggest challenges, regardless of the weight class. I was happy when they gave me that name because I also saw that the UFC is giving me a good opportunity despite the fact that my last fight wasn’t the greatest. I know my potential, and the UFC also sees that.”
Yusuff, also making his UFC lightweight debut, enters the octagon for the 10th time in his return to action a little over a year after a quick knockout loss, putting his back against the wall following consecutive defeats to Brazil’s Diego Lopes and Edson Barboza.
“It has everything to be a great fight for me,” Santos said. “We always expect the knockout, so I’ll keep my word. I’ll knock him out in the second round. I didn’t respect my last opponent, and for this fight I want to respect him but not respect him at the same time, if you know what I mean. My hand will land eventually. He walks forward and exposes himself a lot. I believe that favors me. My hope is that we’ll get the knockout in this fight — and finally a bonus [laughs].”