Two of the UFC light heavyweight division’s most popular Brazilians are in the works to collide this fall.
Former light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos will square off against Johnny Walker at UFC Fight Night on Sept. 25, pending bout finalization. The event doesn’t have a publicly known location or venue at this time.
A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Combate and MMA Fighting were first to report the news Wednesday.
No other fights for the UFC Fight Night event on Sept. 25 have surfaced at this time.
Santos (21-9 MMA, 13-8 UFC) won four straight fights from 2018-2019 but has hit a rough patch in recent appearances. He’ll enter this fight on a three-fight losing skid. After he dropped a split decision to then-champion Jon Jones at UFC 239, Santos was submitted by Glover Teixeira last November. In his most recent outing at UFC 259 in March, Santos lost a unanimous decision to Aleksandar Rakic.
Walker (18-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) snapped a two-fight losing skid in his most recent appearance last September. In that fight, Walker finished Ryan Spann with punches after a frenetically paced affair. He was then scheduled to fight Jimmy Crute in March but withdrew from the fight due to a torn pectoral muscle.
