Thiago Santos suffered a split-decision loss to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 239 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 7. During the fight, Santos appeared to injure his leg and an MRI on Monday revealed that the damage was as severe as it looked in the cage.
“Marreta” will miss the remainder of 2019 and much longer after suffering a torn ACL, MCL, PCL, and meniscus in his left knee. He also suffered damage to his right knee, though that damage has yet to be determined.
The news was first reported by Brazilian news outlet Combate.
Santos initially suffered the damage in the opening round of his five-round title fight and the unstableness of his knee was evident throughout the duration of the bout.
“No complaints and no dwelling on the past, I left it all in the octagon and did everything I could in the condition that I was in,” Santos said in a post on Instagram following the fight. “All glory to god and thank you all very much!”
After a five round battle at #UFC239, both @JonnyBones and @TMarretaMMA leave in wheelchairs
pic.twitter.com/iydTVOFsUn
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 7, 2019
When medical suspensions were first announced by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Santos’ layoff was accompanied with the message: “Needs left hand X-rayed and MRI of left knee. If injury discovered, must have orthopedic doctor clearance, or suspended until Jan. 3, 2020; suspended at minimum until Aug. 6 with no contact until July 28.”
We wish Santos a full and speedy recovery.
UFC 239 Results
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10:00 p.m. ET)
- Jon Jones def. Thiago Santos via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) for the light heavyweight title
- Amanda Nunes def. Holly Holm via TKO (head kick, punches) – Round 1, 4:10 for the women’s bantamweight title
- Jorge Masvidal def. Ben Askren via KO (flying knee) – Round 1, 0:05
- Jan Blachowicz def. Luke Rockhold via KO (punches) – Round 2, 1:39
- Michael Chiesa def. Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Arnold Allen def. Gilbert Melendez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Marlon Vera def. Nohelin Hernandez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:25
- Claudia Gadelha def. Randa Markos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Song Yadong def. Alejandro Perez via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:04
- Edmen Shahbazyan def. Jack Marshman via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:12
- Chance Rencountre def. Ismail Naurdiev via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 30-27)
- Julia Avila def. Pannie Kianzad via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)