Gegard Mousasi got it done again. The top middleweight fighter was forced to deal with a late replacement fighter that offered up a different style, but he controlled his bout with Thiago Santos on the feet and on the ground, eventually picking up a knockout victory
After hurting Santos with an uppercut, Mousasi looked to take his back on the ground. Santos was able to keep his back to the cage so that didn’t happen, but when he tried to get up, he ate an uppercut and a left hook that left him sprawled out on the mat.
The finish came at 4:32 of the first round.
Mousasi, who had been angling for a shot and Daniel Cormier this week after Jon Jones dropped out, was coming off a solid win over Thales Leites in February. Santos came in on a four-fight win streak, most recently stopping Nate Marquardt via knockout in May. Mousasi entered the fight in the eight spot in the official UFC rankings, while Santos was at 15.
Santos was a late replacement for Derek Brunson, who was pulled from the card due to vision issues.
Check out video of the finish here:
OHHHHH! @Mousasi_MMA drops Santos!!!!!!!! #UFC200 https://t.co/CatCy4YLyT
— #UFC200 (@ufc) July 9, 2016
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