The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its debut in the Czech Republic on Saturday with UFC on ESPN+3 at the O2 Arena in Prague. The event was headlined by a bout between two top ten contenders in the light heavyweight division, Jan Blachowicz and Thiago “Marreta” Santos.
Blachowicz, a former KSW light heavyweight champion, entered the bout on a four-fight winning streak. Santos, meanwhile, was on two-fight streak with wins in six of his last seven outings — five by TKO or knockout.
When it was all said and finished, it was Santos who kept his streak alive with a brutal third-round finish of Blachowicz.
Santos landed a heavy right hand followed by a left hand, which dropped Blachowicz to the canvas. Once “Marreta” smelled blood, he pounced on for the finish with some vicious ground-and-pound until the referee stepped in to save the day. With the win, Santos is now tied for second in UFC history with 11 knockouts.
The brutal finish that could set Santos in line for a title shot can be seen below:
ON THE BUTTON@TMarretaMMA lands clean to close out #UFCPrague pic.twitter.com/MdQvLFIVLy
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 23, 2019
The full results from UFC Prague and video highlights of the best finishes can be seen below.
UFC on ESPN+3 Results
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuOrAGmnzl9/
Thiago “Marreta” Santos def. Jan Blachowicz via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:39
Stefan Struve def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 2:21
If this is it for @StefanStruve, he went out 🔛🔝 #UFCPrague pic.twitter.com/vyXjYKbTAB
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 23, 2019
Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Gian Villante via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:34
Powering down in 3…2…1… #UFCPrague pic.twitter.com/9qWp9u5dKf
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 23, 2019
Liz Carmouche def. Lucie Pudilova via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Petr Yan def. John Dodson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Magomed Ankalaev def. Klidson Farias via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Dwight Grant def. Carlo Pedersoli Jr. via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:59
AT THE BUZZER #UFCPrague@DwightGrant closes the show and @JohnGoodenUK speaks too soon pic.twitter.com/qsX4TZdfq0
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 23, 2019
Chris Fishgold def. Daniel Teymur via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:10
Methodical work by @ChrisFishgold on the mat #UFCPrague pic.twitter.com/fdjBUmenpq
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 23, 2019
Gillian Robertson def. Veronica Macedo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:27
Damir Hadzovic def. Marco Polo Reyes via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:03
The first finish at #UFCPrague comes via ground and pound by @DamirHadzo pic.twitter.com/w3pJjdQuka
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 23, 2019
Ismail Naurdiev def. Michel Prazeres via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Diego Ferreira def. Rustam Khabilov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Damir Ismagulov def. Joel Alvarez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
