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PFL V Bellator: 4 Years After Controversial Loss to Jon Jones, Thiago Santos’ Opponent Yoel Romero Opens Up on Rival’s Close Loss to UFC Champ

Published 01/24/2024, 7:17 PM EST

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The Champions vs Champions event is scheduled to take place on February 24th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main card for the much-anticipated event has 5 champions from Bellator, facing off against 5 champions from PFL. This announcement has left the MMA community anticipating seeing the champions from both promotions fight it out to see which promotion would have the better champions. Fans now no longer have to face the anxiety of anticipating.

The Champions vs Champions card not only has a stacked main card but also holds massive fights in the undercard. Former multiple-time UFC title challenger Yoel ‘Soldier of God’ Romero will be fighting at the prelims against another former UFC title challenger, Thiago ‘Merrata’ Santos who fought the MMA goat, Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title. Here is what Yoel Romero had to say about their fight in the past.

Yoel Romero praises the fight between Jon Jones and Thiago Santos

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Thiago Santos had one of the best performances against Jon Jones all the way back in 2019 at UFC 239. Jones, who is regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, had one of his toughest fights against Thiago Santos. However, what was surprising was what Santos’ fight against Jones comprised of.

Santos, in the fight against Jon Jones, had torn his ACL, MCL, and PCL, not forgetting tearing his meniscus, in the fight. Though Santos could barely keep his balance, the former title challenger made it his duty to push the UFC heavyweight champ to the edge during the fight. Romero, like most fight fans, had nothing but praise for the Brazilian fighter.

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Romero in the press conference for the Championship vs. Champions said, “It was a great fight, Johnny is a very good opponent and Thiago fought a great fight, he deserved the opportunity and looked very good.”

Both Yoel Romero and Thiago Santos were top fighters in the biggest MMA promotion, the UFC. But, how do they fare against each other now?

‘Soldier of God’ vs ‘Marreta’

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Despite both fighters coming in with unanimous decision losses in their last fights, it’s not a surprise to see the fans excited about the matchup between the two light heavyweight juggernauts. Romero has had two continuous KO wins before losing to Vadim Nemkov via unanimous decision.

Marreta, on the other hand, is on a three-fight losing streak. However, Santos has won 16 of his 22 wins by finishes, 15 coming by way of KO/TKO. Romero has won 13 of his 15 fights via KO/TKO, which is why the fans are expecting the fight to not go the distance, though holding a lot of potential.

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Given that both Romero and Santos are nearing their retirement, who do you think, between the two veteran gladiators, will win? Let us know what you think about the matchup in the comments section below.

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Written by:

Imtikokba Jamir

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One take at a time

As someone who's spent his childhood experiencing combat sports firsthand, I have always been in awe of the action in the cage. Post a Degree with Honors in Literature, I quickly realised my penmanship needed some gloves. So here I am , Imtikokba Jamir, a pro writer for UFC at EssentiallySports.
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Edited by:

Donna Eva