The top four nature of the fight lends one to seeing this bout as a No. 1-contender fight, but title shots are a tricky business of timing, performance and desire. For Santos, he sees it more or less the same, but understands he does control his destiny to a degree.
“It’s not 100 percent,” he said. “I’m sure the next challenger should be who wins this fight between me and Glover. No one knows. I don’t know what UFC is going to do. My goal is win this fight and go to a title shot, but it doesn’t depend on me.”
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With Teixeira in mind, Santos had nothing but good things to say about the former title challenger and is particularly impressed by what Teixeira has done north of 40 years old.
“He is doing good for his age,” Santos said. “So good. He has a lot of experience, and I’m sure he uses this in the Octagon. How he prepares to fight, he found the right way to prepare himself and to fight, too. I need to pay attention to everything. He is a tough guy. He is dangerous everywhere.”
While being well-rounded is evident in both fighters, it’s hard to ignore the signs pointing to a banger of a bout. Santos and Teixeira combine for 33 knockout wins, and neither is a stranger to taking some damage to land the bigger bomb, either.