Mairon Santos

Mairon Santos vs. Francis Marshall
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Santos (-355), Marshall (+280)

Round 1
From one Santos to another we go (no relation), as the self-proclaimed “Legend” Santos (14-1, 1-0 UFC) tries to go for two in a row in the Octagon. To prevail, he will need to put out “Fire” Marshall (8-2, 2-2 UFC). The featherweights will be joined by referee Chris Tognoni, who clocks them as they elect not to touch gloves. Santos lunges forward with a front kick, and Marshall slips out of the way and beans him with a right hand over the top that stuns Santos. Santos tries to go one-for-one with his opponent, and Marshall sweeps him off his feet with a powerful calf kick. Marshall shoots in from a distance for a takedown, and the Brazilian skirts out of the way to get back to the center of the cage. When Santos gets off a leg kick, Marshall clips him with a left hand that stumbles him but does not put him down. Santos chambers and fires a low kick, knocking Marshall to his seat for a second. Marshall springs back up and darts in with a one-two, and he scores a leg kick and checks one coming back his way. Marshall backs off with a short combination as Santos bears down on him, and he lashes out with a right hand that just grazes off the chin. When Santos attacks a low kick, Marshall’s counter is primed and ready to fire. Marshall clips Santos with it, and Santos gets back in his face and clubs him with a right hand on the temple. Marshall’s success prompts the fans to cheer “USA” for him until he gets his, and then the chants die down. Marshall gets back to it with a few long punches, only to get chopped at with a leg kick. Marshall gives him one back to think about, and rolls with a booming right hand that bangs into the side of his head. Santos lets loose a leg kick, and Marshall shoots in with a telegraphed takedown and is met with an uppercut. Marshall winds up with a left hand and knocks “The Legend” to the canvas, and he immediately is faced with a takedown attempt. Marshall fights out of it to get to the side while Santos is trying to stand, and he beats on him on the side of the dome. Santos leans himself against the fencing, and Marshall drops in a few more right hands until the horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Marshall
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Marshall
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Marshall

Round 2
The fighters race towards one another to start off the second round, with Marshall looking for his jab early. Santos slaps one away and pops Marshall in the chops with his own. When Santos is faking low kicks, Marshall gets tired of reacting to them and smacks the Brazilian in the face with a left hand. Santos lunges at him with a left hook, and Marshall parries it and cannot get out of the way of two leg kicks, although he partially checks the second. Marshall scoops in a left uppercut when Santos leaves his guard down, and he rails a right hand around the guard to sting Santos. When Santos backpedals, Marshall chases him down and lands a few punches on his foe’s guard. Marshall disengages, and he tries to time a counter but is beaten to the punch by a leaping Santos. Marshall uses his jab to disallow Santos from loading up, and he swats away a front kick to catch his man with a left. The third strike in a combination from Santos busts up Marshall’s nose, which is firmly leaking at this point. Santos slaps a few low kicks in when there is a lull in the action, and Marshall springs into action with a big left hook that brushes past his intended target. Marshall rushes forward with a tackling takedown, taking Santos off his feet and drifting past Santos when the first try fails. Marshall grips Santos from behind and clasps his hands around the waist, kicking Santos’ feet out from underneath him a few times when Santos scampers back upright. Marshall grinds his adversary against the wire, looking for trips until Santos turns around. Marshall considers going after a single-leg takedown, but Santos uses a knee shield to push Marshall away from him and force a separation. Santos lets fly a head kick, and Marshall shrugs it off and blocks another from the other side right before the bell.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Marshall
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Marshall
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Marshall

Round 3
The featherweights clap hands to get going in the last stanza, with Santos again in the center of the cage looking for leg kicks. Marshall spurs himself into action with three clubbing punches, only to back away when Santos is on him with power. Marshall sneaks a right hand in around the guard, and he slips away before Santos can bear down on him. Marshall intercepts an advancing Santos with a stiff jab, and he continues moving so Santos cannot trap him. Marshall leans forward and unleashes a right hand from an odd angle, and he dances out of harm’s way as Santos’ volume has diminished fairly significantly. Santos gets off two punches, but Marshall is elusive and throws back three. The Brazilian absorbs a left hand on the chin when coming forward despite his guard pinned to his jab, and Marshall is slicker and quicker. Santos tries to step in with a knee, and it is a few feet away from a moving Marshall. Marshall sits down on a handful of punches, ignoring what comes back his way and checking a leg kick. Marshall is in and out with a jab, slipping strikes and peppering “The Legend” with offense. Santos is one-and-done with a power overhand right, and he jabs out with a front kick off the midsection. Marshall thumps the front leg with a kick, and he turns his head out of the way of a right hand after completing his own combo. Santos stands firm and plants his fists on Marshall’s chin, and Marshall does not like this and shoots. Santos tries to roll with it, but Marshall smothers him and puts him flat on his back with 25 seconds remaining on the clock. Marshall resides in the closed guard, with Santos swatting at him with his hands that have nothing on them. Before Marshall can get off much ground-and-pound, time expires to conclude the pairing.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Marshall (30-27 Marshall)
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Marshall (30-27 Marshall)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Marshall (30-27 Marshall)

The Official Result
Mairon Santos def. Francis Marshall via Split Decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

Kaan Ofli vs. Mairon Santos
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Ofli (+164), Santos (-205)

Round 1
Team Grasso placed not one but two competitors in the finals of the 145-pound tournament on this season of the reality show. Ofli (11-2-1, 0-0 UFC) qualified for the six-figure match by throttling Roedie Roets with a guillotine, while Santos (13-1, 0-0 UFC) surpassed replacement Guillermo Torres in a close three-round encounter to reach it himself. There is nothing left but the particulars issued by referee Chris Tognoni, and the cage door locks behind them. The former teammates touch ‘em up, and Ofli wades forward into combat only to get popped with a greeting card of a right hand from Santos. Ofli responds with a jump knee and grabs hold of the Brazilian’s leg to take him down, and Santos splits away from that attempt without concern. Santos clips his foe on the way in with a right hand, and he lifts up a knee to catch Ofli on the side of the head. Ofli walks him down fearlessly, and he goes to a knee in pursuit of a takedown. Ofli is stood up, so he lands a few knees on the inside. Ofli grinds, and Santos does not appear concerned as his back is squeezed against the wire. Santos ignores a few knees to nail Ofli on the cheek with an elbow, forcing an immediate separation. Santos jabs with a front kick, and he doubles up on his jab to follow. Santos splits the guard with a jab, and he blasts the front leg with a kick that nearly takes Ofli off his feet. Ofli responds with a right hand over the top, and he is met with a right-hand counter. Santos pushes out his front kick again to great effect, and a slow but methodical one-two finds its home. A power calf kick from the Brazilian succeeds in taking Ofli off his feet, and he stands back to let Ofli get back up. Ofli absorbs another low kick that he does not like, and he runs forward and is met with a knee that glances off his chin. Ofli dodges a right hook by a whisker, and he scores a trio of punches to back Santos off momentarily. Santos prods out with two straight right hands, and he jumps at his foe with a switch knee. Ofli lets him land and knocks him away with a counter right. The round ends with Santos scoring a head kick.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Santos
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Santos
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Santos

Round 2
The pace picks up where it left off, with Santos the aggressor firing off kicks and punches that Ofli cannot defend. Ofli fires back his own leg kick, and he is caught on the way in with a left but still manages to jam Santos against the fence for a second. Santos circles away and returns to the middle of the cage, and he walks through a body kick and attacks with a jump switch kick. The front kick from Santos is money in the bank, and he strings a Superman punch behind it to further fluster Ofli. Santos jabs and connects with a cross, and Ofli marches forward loaded for bear.
When he sees Ofli loading up, “The Legend” lashes out with a looping right that skims the target and follows with a tremendous left hand that separates Ofli from his senses. The lights go out for Ofli, who drops to his knees totally unconscious. Before he falls face-first to the canvas, Santos is on him with two painful yet academic right hands to seal the deal.
Tognoni wrenches Santos off the unconscious Ofli when he sees that Ofli is in dreamland, and Ofli faceplants having lost control of his faculties. While history’s Genghis Khan likely died due to an illness, “Genghis Kaan” was slain—figuratively speaking, of course—by a vicious left hook from a former teammate. That is a way to make a statement to the company, with Santos announcing himself to everyone that will be a factor moving forward. He is the latest featherweight victor of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and ring girl Brookilyn Wren is the one to hand him his trophy with UFC chief Dana White nowhere in sight. The triumphant Santos declares that he is the new Alex Pereira, while saying he plans on becoming a champion like interviewer Michael Bisping.

The Official Result
Mairon Santos def. Kaan Ofli R2 1:30 via KO (Punch)