Thiago Santos breaks down UFC on ESPN+ 40 upset loss to Teixeira: ‘I wasn’t there’

Thiago Santos didn’t make an appearance at the UFC on ESPN+ 40 post-fight news conference.

Moments earlier, Santos (21-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) tapped to a third-round rear-naked choke against fellow Brazilian Glover Teixeira (32-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) in the main event. It was Santos’ long-awaited return after surgeries on both knees.

A win would have kept him in the light heavyweight title picture less than two years after he suffered a close decision loss to former champion Jon Jones in a fight many thought he had done enough to win to become champion. Instead, the upset loss gave Santos two straight setbacks and put him back in the pack for title contention.

Sunday, Santos posted his first public comments on the loss on his Instagram account and said, essentially, the game plan never came together.

“I’m so disappointed by myself,” Santos posted. “I didn’t anything what I have trained, I wasn’t there. I just wanna say sorry to my coaches, my family and everyone who support me. thank you God for everything in my life, I am so blessed, nothing can change my faith.”

View this post on Instagram

Eu estou totalmente decepcionado e envergonhado com a minha performance, eu não fiz nada do que treinei, travei, não fui o lutador que sou. Peço desculpas aos meus treinadores e equipe e obrigado por todo empenho, vocês são demais, obrigado a todos que sempre estão ao meu lado, me desculpem por decepciona-los dessa vez.Obrigado Deus por absolutamente tudo em minha vida, sou mas do que abençoado e nem sei se mereço tanto, minha fé em ti é inabalável. . 🇺🇸 I'm so disappointed by myself, I didn't anything what I have trained, I wasn't there. I just wanna say sorry to my coaches, my family and everyone who support me. thank you God for everything in my life, I am so blessed, nothing can change my faith.

A post shared by Thiago "Marreta" Santos (@tmarretamma) on Nov 8, 2020 at 1:04pm PST

Santos was more than a 2-1 favorite against Teixeira, who almost inexplicably is on one of the best runs of his UFC career despite being north of 40. Teixeira has five straight wins and is very much in the discussion to get the first crack at new light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz for the title.