The matchup between Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira raises a lot of interest. The winner here should challenge the current, lightweight UFC champion, Jan Blachowicz. ProSports.net will make a quick preview of this bout.
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Thiago Santos -220
We are still getting mixed reactions about Santos’ match against Jon Jones. More than 15 months later, the debate continues – did he won or not? It is hard to tell, but the Sledgehammer definitely pushed Bones to the brink. We never saw him like that.
Santos is a dominant puncher whose striking abilities are almost impeccable. Just remember how he knocked out Jan Blachowicz, going backward while striking the Pole’s chin and sending him to the la-la land. The 36-year old has wins over another title challenger, Anthony Smith, Jack Hermansson, Gerald Meerschaert, etc.
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His quickness is superb, especially the left hook, which knocked out so many rivals in the past.
Glover Teixeira +180
With 41 years of age, this guy is amazing, everyone. Many believed in his quick fall after a loss against Corey Anderson in July 2018. Yet, Glover rose to the occasion afterward, to post four victories in a row and earn a title-eliminator battle against his compatriot.
He already attacked the title once, but Jon Jones defeated Teixeira via unanimous decision. Following that battle, we saw Glover having some troubles in his performances, but all that faded with him posting those four triumphs. The most recent one was against Anthony Smith, whom he demolished in the latter stage of the match.
Glover is a fantastic grappler, one of the best in the division and the entire UFC. He has a strong grab and knows how to handle massive guys on the ground. He isn’t some attractive hitter, but his punching combinations are still pretty solid, and he does have 18 knockouts in 31 wins.
Prediction
Even though Santos sits as a solid favorite here, there is one thing that concerns all of his fans. Ring rust. He was out for more than a year, and during that time, he didn’t test his body quite well. Santos was massacred against Jones, receiving multiple injuries, and so far, we don’t know whether he recovered properly.
That is why betting on Glover should be worth trying in this case. The odds are solid for a long shot, so why not.
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