Thiago Santos Thinks He Beat Jon Jones, Says There ‘Has To Be A Rematch’
UFC light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos recently rewatched his fight with Jon Jones and believes he won.
Santos challenged Jones for the light heavyweight title in the UFC 239 headliner last month. “Marreta” would take Jones the full distance and even won on one judge’s scorecard. However, the other two scored it for Jones, meaning the champion would retain his belt via split decision.
However, all the talk was about Santos and his performance, especially considering he was heavily compromised early on in the fight, having injured his left knee. He has since undergone surgery and having had time to rewatch the fight, believes he won at least three rounds:
“Yes, I saw it once last week,” he recently told ESPN. “It’s difficult for me to watch. That’s why it took me so long to watch it. If I was a judge, I would have given that fight to Thiago Santos. I think I won Rounds 1, 2 and 5.
“I think the fact Jones was the champion weighed on the judges’ decision. I think the challenger has to do more to take the belt from the champion.“
Despite many telling him that he won, the defeat still hurts Santos. However, he’s insistent that a rematch must happen to find out who the real winner is when both are healthy.
“There has to be a rematch,” he added. “As soon as I am 100%, we have to get back in there and find out a real winner.“
Despite some initial hesitation from Jones, he is open to a rematch as well.
How did you score the first fight? Do you think Santos can get the job done in a rematch?
