Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos came away with a big win over the weekend, submitting Curtis Millender in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ 4. That brings Zaleski’s streak to seven in a row, all wins in the UFC, as he hasn’t suffered a loss since his promotional debut back in May 2015. So what’s he got to do to earn some respect and finally break through? MMA Junkie writers Fernanda Prates, Mike Bohn and Ben Fowlkes provide their opinions in this edition of “Triple Take.”
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Fernanda Prates: He’s done his part; time for UFC to do theirs
If anyone had a road map or a specific idea of what it takes to make a person into a star, we’d be able to name more than three “American Idol” winners off the top of our heads. Not every UFC fighter, no matter how talented he or she is, will become a star. And we know that, in a sport geared toward entertainment, being a star can do wonders for a career.
But that’s the thing: there is a middle ground. You don’t have to be sitting on Ellen’s couch to be relevant enough for a fan to want to watch you. And that’s all the UFC needs to do with fighters like dos Santos.
UFC brass doesn’t need to throw all their money and effort into making him Conor McGregor. They need to make sure at least people know who he is, so that by the time he is a viable contender, people are not left scratching their heads as to who he is – and, in turn, feel compelled to scratch their pockets and purchase a pay-per-view.
I know what you’re going to say. “He needs to promote himself, too.” But it’s naive to discount the weight of personal promotion against the push of a machine like the UFC, as we’ve seen from the careers they were interested in sky-rocketing.
Some people, like Darren Till, will make it easier by how comfortable they are in front of cameras and mics. Some, like “Capoeira,” will make it a little harder. But that’s when you look at other angles to promote. If the best asset a fighter has is the way that he fights – and dos Santos has that in spades – then you make sure people see that.
Burying him on the prelims is pretty much making sure they don’t. The UFC started addressing that this past Saturday, when they put “Capoeira” in a co-main event. By the time he got there, though, he’d already plowed through six straight opponents, finished three of them and collected three bonuses in the process.
“Capoeira” thinks a title shot is close, and why wouldn’t it be? But here’s the predicament we often run into: Why would the UFC be interested in putting someone who the public barely knows in a title fight? But, then again, how is the public going to know them if the UFC kept them buried for so long? “Capoeira” did his part. Now, it’s the UFC’s puzzle to solve.
A title shot would be, obviously, in dos Santos’ best interest. But making sure they have as many viable, sellable contenders as possible would certainly be in the UFC’s.
Next page – Mike Bohn: Take advantage of the state of welterweight
Mike Bohn: Capitalize on the state of welterweight
There’s not much dos Santos can do at the moment to truly change the course of his fate. He is in a position where he may need a longer winning streak than any fighter in UFC history before he receives a championship opportunity. That’s just the reality of his situation.
Three canceled fights and/or opponent changes in 2018 certainly didn’t help the Brazilian’s trajectory in the weight class, but he kicked off this year with a bang by putting away Millender in less than three minutes. It’s going to take – at minimum – a couple more wins before dos Santos is looked at seriously as a title contender. Fortunately for him, now is the time he may be able to lock in a high-profile opponent.
Once Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 5 card in London, headlined by former 170-pound title challenger Darren Till vs. Jorge Masvidal and co-headlined by Leon Edwards vs. Gunnar Nelson is complete, just one welterweight in the UFC’s top 15 rankings will have a fight booked.
There’s really no reason why dos Santos shouldn’t be able to get a top-15 opponent, and if UFC matchmakers can’t find a way to make that happen, they’ve failed at their duties. Dos Santos needs to be proactive in pushing for one of the available names as well, though, because while the division seems wide open now, all that can change in an instant.
Next page – Ben Fowlkes: Time to change his name
Ben Fowlkes: Time to change his name
Look, I’ll just say it: The problem is his name
Elizeu … Zaleski … dos Santos.
Somehow this man has too many names and yet still can’t get MMA fans to remember any of them. It might not be so bad if he had a memorable nickname. But this guy? His nickname is “Capoeira.” Like, just the name of the art. And it’s not even much of a martial art in terms of practical application, no matter what Eddy Gordo led us to believe.
Dos Santos has been in the UFC nearly four years and still it feels borderline impossible to even imagine someone saying, ‘Boy, I can’t wait for the next Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos fight!’ That’s a problem.
Clearly, this man is an excellent fighter. But there’s nothing for people to latch onto with him, nothing to reel in the imagination. There’s no there there. If he changed his name to Mike Hot Dogs, and his thing was that he ate a hot dog on his way to the cage and then another as soon as the fight was over, that would be stupid. But at least it would be something. You can bet people would remember Mike Hot Dogs.
As for Elizeu “Capoeira” Zaleski dos Santos? Yeah, no. Clearly it’s not happening. Time to try something else.
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