Tag: Leonardo Santos

Combat Rewind, April 11: Whoa, check out Matt Serra just before his UFC debut

Check out the best highlights from this day in history with MMA Junkie’s “Combat Rewind.”

There’s “Flashback Friday” and “Throwback Thursday” (and Tuesday, too, if you want). But at MMA Junkie, we figured why not expand that to every day?

“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year. It’s a look back at history, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives, featuring stellar finishes and classic moments in MMA and beyond on their anniversaries.

So kick back and relive the following bits of greatness in the video above:

  • King of the Cage – Onslaught: [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag] vs. Roxanne Ceasear
  • ADCC World Championships: [autotag]Ricco Rodriguez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Yoshiaki Yatsu[/autotag]
  • ADCC World Championships: Ricco Rodriguez vs. [autotag]Roger Neff[/autotag]
  • Strikeforce – Shamrock vs. Diaz: [autotag]Scott Smith[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Benji Radach[/autotag]
  • ADCC World Championships: [autotag]Ricardo Liborio[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Kiyoshi Tamura[/autotag]
  • Alaska Fighting Championship 91: [autotag]Andy Enz[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tommie Matthews[/autotag]
  • Strikeforce – Shamrock vs. Diaz: [autotag]Gilbert Melendez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rodrigo Damm[/autotag]
  • ADCC World Championships: [autotag]Matt Serra[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Takanori Gomi[/autotag]
  • ADCC World Championships: Matt Serra vs. [autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag] 2001
  • Strikeforce – Shamrock vs. Diaz: [autotag]Nick Diaz[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Frank Shamrock[/autotag]

Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.

UFC’s Leonardo Santos on Nova Uniao gyms’ shutdown during coronavirus, future plans

Eager to return, Leonardo Santos talks what’s next and how Nova Uniao is dealing with COVID-19.

[autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag] quietly has put together a solid resume in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division.

Inactivity has been his biggest enemy. But after a layoff of nearly three years, Santos (17-3-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC) looked like he didn’t skip a beat with a first-round knockout over Steven Ray at UFC on ESPN+ 11 this past June.

He’s been ready and eager to return to action since the end of 2019, but hasn’t been offered a fight yet.

With the global coronavirus pandemic putting the MMA world at a standstill, Santos isn’t quite sure when he’ll fight next – but he said he’s ready.

“Man – now it’s hard to do a plan,” Santos told MMA Junkie. “I hope this finishes soon and I can fight as soon as possible. This question about it taking so long – you need to ask the UFC. I started asking for a fight in December and I’m still waiting for it.”

A training partner of former UFC featherweight king Jose Aldo at Brazil’s famed Nova Uniao gym, Santos said the gym has taken an initiative to ensure the more than 230 affiliate gyms across the globe don’t suffer.

“The gym is closed for all – nobody is training,” Santos said. “It’s not about the gym, but we have many affiliations and they pay the royalties to us. But the COVID-19 shut down all the academies, and we gave April to all the affiliations free. Let’s see how it will work for the next months.

“(There’s) no charging royalty fees to all the Nova Uniao affiliate gyms. We don’t know if we will open in April. Let’s se what happens in the future.”

It’s been more than a decade since Santos, who’s undefeated in the UFC, has lost. He holds finishes over the likes of Kevin Lee and Anthony Rocco Martin on his resume while he aims for the lightweight rankings.

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