Thiago Santos went the distance with Jon Jones in Saturday’s UFC 239 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In fact, he became the only fighter ever to win a judges’ scorecard against Jones, who dodged the Brazilian’s upset bid by split decision.
Santos was clearly bothered by a left knee injury sustained in the first round. The results of his MRI came back today, showing tears to his ACL, MCL, PCL and meniscus.
Brazilian website Combate first reported the news Monday afternoon. Santos is expected to be out at least eight months.
At his UFC 239 posfight presser, Santos said, “My knee really bothered me during the fight. I fought four rounds on a southpaw stance, unable to move like I usually move, unable to throw the strikes I usually throw. I didn’t shock the world because of those circumstances, but I did what I could do in those conditions and I’m satisfied.”
Santos injured his right knee, too. He will undergo more tests on the right knee this week before determining whether he’ll need surgery on it as well.
As for Ben Askren in the wake of his five-second KO loss to Jorge Masvidal, he’s fine and handling his first career defeat with class and dignity. Askren even appeared on Monday’s Ariel Helwani Show and was interviewed for more than 20 minutes.
Luke Rockhold sustained a broken jaw in his second-round KO loss to Jan Blachowicz, and Dana White suggested that the former middleweight champ retire afterward.
Jones retained his light heavyweight belt with his narrow victory over Santos. Amanda Nunes also defended her women’s bantamweight title with a first-round KO win over Holly Holm at UFC 239.