[autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag] has quietly put together an impressive winning streak in the lightweight division.
Santos (17-3-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC), who’s yet to lose in the UFC, holds stoppage wins over the likes of Kevin Lee, Anthony Rocco Martin and Stevie Ray.
But despite his success in the UFC, Santos finds himself almost taking a step backwards by drawing newcomer Roman Bogatov (10-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) this Saturday at UFC 251.
He’s been vocal about his desire to face top-ranked opposition, but this far, it seems to no avail.
“I’m not sure what else I must do, so it’s understood that I’m one of the toughest fighters in the lightweight division,” Santos told MMA Junkie in his native Portuguese. “I deserve to be in the top-10, and I’ll face any of those fighters, at any time. I’ve issued challenges, but no fights came of them. I’ve done it inside the octagon, I’ve told (matchmaker) Sean Shelby, I’ve done it in interviews, in both English and Portuguese. Nothing happened.
“I’ll keep fighting and winning. I hope that before the end of my career, people recognize I’m one of the best lightweights. I’m not one to talk trash, and I’m not about to start. Of course, if someone provokes me, I’ll respond in kind. Other than that, I’ll keep doing my work and winning.”
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Extended inactivity has not worked in Santos’ favor. In 2016, he spent almost three years on the sidelines, dealing with an array of injuries. He returned in emphatic fashion in June 2019, scoring a first-round knockout over Ray.
But it’s been over a year since he last fought, and Santos, who turned 40 earlier this year, is not looking to waste anymore time.
“It seems like, normally, UFC fighters get booked a couple of times a year,” Santos said. “When you see someone fighting up to four times in a year, that’s outside the curve. Between being out of commission for a while due to injuries and waiting for the UFC to call and opponents getting hurt, I got used to living in this soap opera. My goal now is to fight as often as possible. I’m getting older. I want to make sure I’m always ready to fight.”
Saturday, he takes on an undefeated Russian in Bogatov, and Santos plans on giving him a rude welcoming by bouncing him out of the ranks of the unbeaten.
“He’s tough,” Santos said. “He was the M-1 champion. It’s a big organization, so he deserves respect. He managed to make it to the UFC. But I expect to welcome him into the UFC with his first defeat and show him that we’re on a different level. I’ve been operating at this level for years now. It’s going to be a very tactical bout. He likes the ground game. He likes to take opponents down, control them, and deliver good ground-and-pound. I plan to submit him when he tries that.”
UFC 251 takes place Saturday at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
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