Thiago Santos fought UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones for over four rounds essentially on one leg.
Monday, an MRI revealed a torn ACL, MCL and PCL on Santos’ left knee as well as a meniscus tear. Doctors suspect he may also have reinjured his right knee, which was surgically operated on prior to his gutsy performance against Jones at UFC 239.
Combate first revealed the extent of Santos’ injuries, and MMA Junkie confirmed them with the Brazilian challenger’s management team.
Santos said he injured his knee in the first round of the fight this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. Replays showed him moving unusually after a kick, and afterward, his left leg appeared to give out during moments of the fight.
“The first round wasn’t anything Jon Jones did to me,” Santos told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter. “I felt the knee go out and it really bothered my fight. Everyone saw I did everything I could fighting on a bum knee and I fought the whole fight like that.”
Despite his injuries, Santos (21-6 MMA, 13-5 UFC) pushed Jones (25-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC) and managed to land several hard punches. At the end of the 25-minute fight, one judge gave him a 48-47 score while the remaining two dissented by the same tally for Jones, who took home the split decision.
“I managed to hurt him, I managed to kick him a lot, but our plan was to process when we started our attacks but we couldn’t really do that with the way my knee was,” he said. “I wasn’t really managing to get my hands and put my strikes the way I wanted to.”
According to the Nevada Athletic Commission, which regulated UFC 239, Santos faces a six-month suspension if his injuries are confirmed. As it turns out, he could be out of action for even longer. Combate reports that the fighter won’t be ready for at least eight months. He will undergo surgery in Los Angeles this week.
For complete coverage of UFC 239, check out the UFC Results page.
