Błachowicz vs Santos is the main event of UFC Fight Night 145. It’s the light heavyweight (205 pounds) bout which will take place in Prague, Czech Republic. Both light heavyweights will have a serious confrontation. Review our thoughts on this bout here below.
The event will mark the promotion’s first visit to the Czech Republic. On 23rd of February, in the main event Jan “Prince of Cieszyn” Błachowicz (23-7) will meet Thiago “Marreta” Santos (20-6). This fight will take place at O2 Arena. Both fighters won their last three bouts and are looking forward to getting another one. Both light heavyweights are strong, powerful men. We think it will be a very interesting fight.
Jan “Prince of Cieszyn” Błachowicz
Jan Błachowicz is on a four-fight win streak into a top-five ranking in the UFC’s 205-pound division. Included in that streak are victories over Jimi Manuwa (By decision), Jared Cannonier (By decision) and two submission win against Nikita Krylov and Devin Clark. The Pole made a name for himself in the KSW promotion, which is based out of Poland. He fought and defeated many former UFC fighters and had an impressive 16-2 record.
“Prince OF Cieszyn” is primarily known for his kickboxing. He works good angles, has good kicks, jabs. His wrestling skills are underrated. From the top position, he is a decent passer and has a good submission game. However, he doesn’t have a lot of power in his punches and likes to fight until the final bell. Also, he could improve more on his pace.
Thiago “Marreta” Santos
Thiago Santos has won three straight fights and seven of his past eight. His last fight at UFC 231 in Dec. 2018 “Marreta” won by a brutal knockout over Jimi Manuwa. For Thiago Santos, this fight with Błachowicz will be the biggest of his career as far as rankings are concerned. Brazilian has fought five times in 2018, and the fight against the Pole will be his sixth in just one year’s time.
“Marreta” is a bad man. He is a very dangerous and active fighter. Santos is a great striker, has elite leg kicks, real knockout power. He is physically strong, tall, powerful, which helps him in the clinch. For most of his career, wrestling has been a problem for “Marreta”. Defensively, Santos’ biggest problem is that he gets way too wild.
H2H
These fighters never met each other in the octagon.