The often ultra-aggressive Thiago Santos resisted the urge to blitz Jan Blachowicz too much in the early stages of their headlining fight at UFC On ESPN+ 3 this evening in Prague, but then in the third round it was his opponent who charged forward and got caught with a counter hook for the TKO stoppage.
Round One:
The light-heavyweight main event of the evening is underway in Prague.
Missed kick from Blachowicz. Jab for Santos, but Blachowicz lands cleaner with his. Body kick attempt from Blachowicz as Santos looked like he was lining up a spinning attack.
Body kick for Blachowicz lands with the toes. Jab for Santos. Now a leg kick. Leg kick for Blachowicz and then a body kick. Now Santos with a leg kick. Blachowicz comes forward and Santos is still throwing punches as he backs up.
Santos tries for an elbow as Blachowicz moves in but it’s still a bit short. leg kick for Santos. Hard leg kick for Blachowicz.
Oblique kick for Santos. Now a low kick. Solid one-two combo for Santos. Leg kick for Blachowicz. Oblique kick again for Santos and then a hard punch that lands with a smack.
Oblique kick again then an outside leg kick. Body kick from Blachowicz. Body kick for Santos, but Blachowicz catches it partially and then tries for a takedown. He goes into the clinch against the cage, but Santos breaks free.
Body kick for Santos. Now a leg kick as Blachowicz misses with punches. Somewhat wild left hand from Santos just misses Blachowicz’s chin.
Round Two:
Low leg kick for Santos. Olbique kick for Santos. Blachowicz with a low kick. Uppercut misses for Blachowicz. Solid body kick from Blachowicz and Santos fires off a kick of his own.
Santos goes into a spinning attack but aborts half way through. Santos winds up on a left hand that doesn’t hit the mark. Body kick from Blachowicz.
Leg kick for the Polish fighter. Right hand lands for Blachowicz and then a leg kick behind it. Leg kick for Santos.
Kick to the thigh from Santos. Another solid leg kick for Blachowicz. Spinning back kick from Santos whistles past Blachowicz’s head.
Short flurry from Blachowicz. Blachowicz working the jab. Leg kick for Santos and then a punch. Leg kick for Blachowicz and then Santos winds up on a left hook. He does the same again, over-exerting considering he didn’t find the mark with them.
Nice body kick for Blachowicz. High kick from Blachowicz is blocked. Santos tries for a capoeira kick to end the round and just misses.
Round Three:
Oblique kick attempt from Santos. Leg kick for Santos. Another connects. Blachowicz blitzes forward with uppercuts, but throwing caution to the win costs him dearly as Santos lands a short right hook and then a powerful left hook that lands clean and floors him.
Santos then follows him to the mat and drops a relentless series of powerful hammerfists that leave Blachowicz covering up until the ref steps in to put him out of his misery. TKO victory for Santos then and another highlight reel finish to add to his growing resume just 39 seconds into the fight.
