UFC fighter's 'terrifying hammerfists' destroy rival
Brazil’s Thiago Santos has left fight fans in awe after a “terrifying” flurry of punches cliched a stunning victory at UFC Prague.
Santos pulverised Jan Blachowicz into oblivion to earn an incredible third round TKO win that catapults him into contention for a title fight.
After two close and more measured rounds from the usually frenetic Santos, Blachowicz pressed forward at the start of the third and paid for it dearly.
Moving backwards towards the fence, Santos uncorked a left hook that caught Blachowicz on the jaw and sent him spinning to the canvas.
From there, the Brazilian pounced and ripped off two dozen unanswered hammerfists while the Polish veteran covered up, leaving referee Herb Dean no choice but to step in and stop the fight.
The vicious nature of the win left UFC fans in a spin on social media.
Thiago Santos (21-6) stakes his claim to title contention, waylaying Jan Blachowicz in round three! "Marreta" has won four straight and is 8-1 in his last nine. He has finished 16 wins, 15 by KO/TKO, and is tied for the second-most knockouts (11) in UFC history. #UFCPrague pic.twitter.com/wkL1IEu0bH
— Bulgogi Jones (@Hamderlei) February 23, 2019
Thiago Santos wins via 3rd round TKO in the main event of UFC Prague. That man hits hard.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 23, 2019
Boooooom. Thiago Santos with the step back, left hook counter as Jan Blachowicz presses forward and it's over. Third round TKO. The light heavyweight Santos momentum continues!
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 23, 2019
Damn Thiago Santos. What an animal! @ufc give this man a title shot!@TMarretaMMA #UFCPrague #UFC
— Chris Spicer (@realchrisspicer) February 23, 2019
Thiago Santos is terrifying. #UFCPrague
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) February 23, 2019
I WILL FOREVER BE TERRIFIED OF THIAGO SANTOS AND HIS HAMMERFISTS #UFCPrague
— Robbie Fox (@RobbieBarstool) February 23, 2019
Thiago Santos with the massive KO! Out of nowhere! #UFCPrague
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) February 23, 2019
That was Thiago Santos 11th UFC knockout, tied with Anderson Silva and Anthony Johnson for second-most all time, per @ESPNStatsInfo.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 23, 2019
Thiago Santos wants the winner of Jon Jones vs Anthony Smith. I like it.
— Ryan Falcone (@RYANFALCONE) February 23, 2019
After going 4-1 in 2018 and ending the year with back-to-back finishes at light heavyweight, Santos starts the year with another big finish that gives him even more momentum as he continues to climb the light heavyweight ladder.
Santo has now earned three finishes in six months since moving up to 205 pounds, the last two coming against entrenched, veteran contenders.
The dominant victory puts Santos next in line to challenge for the light heavyweight title.
He declared after the fight that he was going to Las Vegas to watch Jon Jones and Anthony Smith throw down next weekend, with Santos in line to get a title shot against the winner.
"I did what I had to do, the title shot has to happen."
"If I fight Jon Jones, I will shock the world!"
Thiago Santos dispatched of Jan Blachowicz…
And now he's got his sights on Jon Jones 👀#UFCPrague pic.twitter.com/SVPeVaO4AM
— Watch #UFCPrague live on BT Sport (@btsportufc) February 23, 2019
With agencies