UFC middleweight Jack Hermansson predicts the outcome of upcoming clash between Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira
The main event of UFC Vegas 13 between Glover Teixeira and Thiago Santos is attracting a lot of eyes because of its light heavyweight title ramifications.
The latest to share his opinion on this is middleweight contender Jack Hermansson. The Swedish star was speaking with Fightful MMA.
“Glover, what a fighter. He has been there. Sometimes you talk about the experience and what it can do for a fighter. There is no better example than Glover. Is there a smarter fighter than him? I'm not sure, man. He is so smart and his performance against Anthony Smith was just beautiful. Can he make it happen in this one? I'm not sure. Thiago Santos is a powerful dude. I think Santos will probably take this one."
Many analysts and MMA experts believe that the fight will be a toss-up between Glover’s guile and Thiago’s power.
Teixeira has defied all odds in stringing together a four-fight win streak ahead of this fight. His wins include three finishes, the highlight being a TKO win over former LHW title challenger Anthony Smith.
Santos, on the other hand, makes his first appearance in the UFC since a split decision loss against champion Jon Jones in July 2019.
Getting back in the title picture is imperative for Santos but Teixeira is as hungry as he is for a shot at the belt he last fought for in 2014.
Jon Jones had defeated Glover Teixeira via unanimous decision at UFC 172.
Is the Glover Teixeira vs Thiago Santos bout winner the next fighter in line for the LHW title?
With Jan Blachowicz set to take on middleweight champion Israel Adesanya for the light heavyweight belt in March, one may think that the winner of the Teixeira vs Santos fight will face the winner of the LHW championship bout for the next title shot. However, there are other contenders in the picture.
Dominick Reyes, who was knocked out by Blachowicz en route to winning the title vacated by champion Jon Jones, is not expected to return to Octagon till early 2021. That timeline could work out nicely in regards to a title shot.
However, having suffered two consecutive losses in title fights, it seems highly unlikely that Reyes will get a chance at the title anytime soon.