Leonardo Santos reminded the world that he should be a player in the UFC lightweight division on Saturday when he returned from a 966-day layoff to score a brutal knockout of Stevie Ray at UFC on ESPN+ 11.
Santos (17-3-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC), who has not lost in more than a decade, has been out of action since UFC 204 in October 2016 due to injuries and canceled bouts. He finally got back in the octagon on the card at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, and the result against Ray (22-9 MMA, 6-4 UFC) was a reminder of why he’s lost just once in his past 18 fights.
The Brazilian landed a devastating counter-punch knockout on Ray just over two minutes into the fight, but his celebration was perhaps even more memorable. Santos not only exited the octagon, but he performed a throwback to B.J. Penn’s old-school win over Caol Uno and ran all the way backstage (via Twitter):
Santos eventually made his way back to the octagon, where his hand was raised for the sixth time in seven UFC fights. He pleaded his case for a more active schedule going forward and wants a top 10 opponent, which is understandable considering he’s 39 years old.
Ray had only been stopped with strikes once prior to Santos’ handiwork, and perhaps that will get him the top-ranked opponent he wants next.
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