Thiago Santos will make his anticipated return to the octagon in September when he takes on fellow Brazilian Glover Teixeira in a UFC main event.
Santos (21-7 MMA, 13-6 UFC) and Teixeira (31-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) have agreed to a five-round headliner in he light heavyweight division on Sept. 12, MMA Junkie verified with multiple people close to the situation following an initial report from ESPN. The people request anonymity because UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
The location and venue for the card have not been announced and will likely be determined by coronavirus restrictions as cases continue to rise in the U.S.
Regardless of where it happens, though, the matchup will pit Santos, No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA light heavyweight rankings, against No. 7-ranked Teixeira in a crucial bout for the division as No. 1-ranked Jon Jones engages in a contract dispute with UFC.
Santos hasn’t competed since pushing Jones to the limit at UFC 239 in July. After moving up from middleweight and going on a promising run, “Marreta” pushed Jones to the limit over 25 minutes and became the first to take a winning scorecard off the longtime champ in a split decision. He suffered serious injuries to both his knees in the fight, and has been out of action since after undergoing a double knee surgery.
Teixeira, meanwhile, is on one of the best streaks of his UFC career at 40. The former title challenger has put together four-straight, including a big win over Anthony Smith at UFC on ESPN 10 in May where he had to overcome an early storm to deliver a lopsided beatdown.
With the addition, the UFC’s Sept. 12 lineup now includes:
- Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira
- Andrea Lee vs. Roxanne Modafferi
- Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell
