Thiago Santos is no longer a UFC fighter after coming to a mutual agreement to end his contract, paving the way for him to sign with the PFL promotion.
The 38-year-old will now go on to compete in PFL’s next light-heavyweight tournament in 2023, where a grand prize of $1 million lies in wait for the winner.
“It was an amicable separation with the UFC,” Santos’ manager Alex Davis told ESPN. “Thiago is very grateful for everything the UFC did for him, and he’s very grateful toward the PFL for signing with him. He’s looking forward to winning a million dollars.”
Santos move comes after a major slump in form that saw him win just once in in his last five six Octagon appearances. Before that he had been doing well, winning four fights in a row to earn a title shot against Jon Jones, but while he gave a good account of himself in that fight, he would go on to lose by split decision.
Adding to the disappointment of that narrow defeat, Santos suffered serious knee injuries as a result of the fight, which led to a long layoff, and he doesn’t appear to be performing at quite the same level since, suffering further losses to Glover Teixiera, Aleksander Rakic, Magomed Ankalaev and most recently Jamahal Hill, with his solitary victory coming against Johnny Walker.
Santos bows out of the UFC after a 14-10 run, leaving him with an overall career record of 22-11.
