Athletes
Daniel Santos | Ready For War
In-Form Featherweight Expects To Play His Part In A Barnburner With ‘The Korean Superboy’ At UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa
Brazilian featherweight Daniel Santos has picked up some real momentum since arriving on the big stage. Now he’s set to take on a Hall of Famer in a bid to move closer to the division’s elite.
Santos, 31, returns to action Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa, where he’ll take on South Korean legend Dooho Choi in a 145-pound matchup that looks set to thrill the crowd at Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
It will be the third consecutive South Korean opponent for Santos, who previously defeated Jeong Yeong Lee and Joo Sant Yoo to take his professional record to 13-2. Now he’s all set to face “The Korean Superboy” whose fight with Cub Swanson at UFC 206 back in December 2016 was inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.
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"Third Korean in a row. I think that there are similar styles from one another,” Santos told UFC.com during a fight week sit-down interview ahead of the event.
“Obviously, Choi is a different name – somebody who's had a lot of experience in the UFC, and also somebody who had a great fight against Cub Swanson. There's some familiarity with his game, and I think we're ready to put on a great show on Saturday.”
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Santos made his Octagon debut back in April 2022 at UFC 273, but lost a decision to Julio Arce. But since then it’s been wins all the way, with victories over John Castaneda and Johnny Munoz Jr, before his back-to-back wins over Lee and Yoo in 2025.
“Willycat” explained that the infamous Octagon jitters are very real, and they played a major part in his downfall in that debut defeat to Arce.
“I think it was the anxiety of the first fight in the UFC,” he explained.
“Every time you're going to be stepping into that Octagon for the first time, there's a lot that goes into it. You’re anxious. There’s a lot of adrenaline, as well. So, with more times in the Octagon, it's just being there and being familiar with being in the Octagon. I think the anxiety goes away, and you feel different about the way you fight.”
Daniel Santos Finishes Castaneda With Vicious Knee | UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Yan
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Daniel Santos Finishes Castaneda With Vicious Knee | UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Yan
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That familiarity quickly overtook the anxiety, as Santos embarked on a four-fight win streak that he carries into Saturday night’s fight with Choi. It’s a fight against a renowned opponent, and in a high-profile position on the fight card. For Santos, it’s exactly the sort of matchup he’s been working towards, and he’s ready for the challenge.
“That's why I worked hard for so many years – to be in this position,” he said.
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That's what we want to do. These are the opportunities we want, to just progress and just go up the rankings and to be up there. That's what I want to show. I want to show people that I'm a complete athlete, I'm a tough athlete, I'm a tough opponent, somebody who's ready for it, that has evolved, and that is going to be a champion. That's what I want to be. I want to show dominance throughout my fights. And I came to dominate, came to dominate his division, and all the way to being a champion. That’s what I want.”
Santos feels like he’s heading into this weekend’s fight in the best shape of his career. Medical issues earlier in his career slowed his momentum prior to his fights with Lee and Yoo, but now he’s at his fighting best, having worked with the specialists at the UFC Performance Institute.
Daniel Santos Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa
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Daniel Santos Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa
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“The first thing was nutrition,” he explained.
“I changed things up, and I moved on to someone from here, from the UFC Performance Institute. I changed the nutrition specialist who was taking care of me. We were trying to understand how things happened in the past. We wanted to get to the bottom of this, and we wanted to be more connected with things that are happening here (at the UFC PI). We wanted to be aligned, and we got a lot of pointers, and I think that was the first step. And then strength and conditioning, as well. We changed a lot of things for it, just pushing hard, just going for more performance, and then obviously that translates into your physique, right?
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“From then on, I just feel like I was an athlete, a true athlete, a professional athlete that took care of himself and everything. And then I see the results.”
Santos has been laser-focused on preparing to face Choi, but ultimately, his goal is to break into the featherweight top 15, where even bigger potential matchups await. The Brazilian is giving Saturday night’s bout his full attention, but he admits there are a couple of names he’d love to share the Octagon with if he gets the result he’s chasing this weekend.
"To be honest, I was focused on Choi, full-on. I was just very dedicated to this fight,” he said.
“But I know that in this sport, you have to focus on the future. You have to focus on the path. You have to focus on what's next for you towards a championship. And I have to be aware of that.
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“So I was thinking about two names. One of them is Patricio Pitbull. I think it's somebody that I have the utmost respect for, somebody that's ranked 15th right now, and I think that's the position that I want to be in, so I might as well fight for it, and I think it would be a good matchup.
“And also Aaron Pico. I mean, to kind of beat him, as well, kind of just beat him as well. He’s someone who might want, or have to, defend his position, so I’m ready to take it, and I think that will be a really good matchup for us to fight. So those are the two fights that I think about.”
Those are two big fights against marquee opponents, and a win over Choi on Saturday night could put him in the frame for those sorts of matchups later in the year. Santos knows and respects Choi’s past work inside the Octagon, and said that the South Korean star’s fighting style will mesh well with his own to deliver an exciting co-main event battle for the fans.
“I expect nothing short of what everyone’s expecting, to fight a war,” he said.
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“That's what I came here to do. That's what he wants to do. And that's what I'm going to deliver, as well. That's the Chute Boxe spirit. Every time you face an athlete from Chute Boxe, that’s what you’re going to get. We train for wars. We put on wars. That's the way we train, and that's what we're going to do.
“I expect a tough fight and a show for everyone, and I think that we’re going to finish with a hard-fought battle for two rounds, and I’m coming out for a knockout, maybe in the third round.”
UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 16, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!