Athletes
Marion Santos | Learning With Every Fight
Brazil's Mairon Santos Enters His Third UFC Fight Feeling Confident About The Growth And Improvements He Has Made Since Last Fight
Despite only having two fights in the UFC, Mairon Santos is already on track for big things in the Octagon. Case in point, his UFC lightweight debut this Saturday will be against another newcomer to 155 pounds with an impressive resume in Sodiq Yusuff.
“This is the biggest fight in my career, the biggest name,” Santos said. “So yeah, I think it's going to be a moment that can change my career forever. That's how I see this fight.”
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At just 24, Santos is well aware that every fight is a big fight. You lose, that’s half your check. You win, you move up. But there are ones with a little extra on them, and this one certainly fits the bill. So while Santos is training as hard as ever in the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas, in his mind, there is that career-altering element to this fight and to his preparation.
“I'm training hard,” he said. “I don't think I can train any harder. But mentally, it's different. I think my mind's in another place right now since Yusuff is a big name and he can put me in the rankings. He’s fought everybody. So my mind is different for this fight.”
This time, he’s locked in mentally, something which he admits wasn’t necessarily the case in his most recent bout against Francis Marshall in March, when he escaped with a disputed split decision on the UFC 313 undercard at T-Mobile Arena.
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“I learned a lot about myself with this fight, and I saw that I can push hard when the fight gets ugly,” Santos said. “I think it was the only time I've been knocked down since my second fight, so it's been a while. But yeah, it was a good fight. I was looking at him like an easy fight, and that was wrong of me. That didn't help my performance. I was very surprised in the cage because I was expecting it to be an easy fight. So, for this fight, I'm back to my mentality where I know my opponent's tough, but I'm going to be tougher and I'm going to win every challenge that he brings it up. That's how I treated all my fights in TUF and in the finale, and that's how I'm treating this fight, too. But yeah, this fight was very important to me. I'm glad, too, because the fight was super close and I got dropped and because I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I have to be humble about my opponents and it's going to be a new version of me for this fight, one hundred percent.”
It's always good when you can learn some valuable lessons while dodging the proverbial bullets that come with a loss. Santos got the win, moved his board game piece another step forward, and it didn’t cost him in the pecking order or in his wallet. And he got to fight in a packed arena, to boot.
“Man, it was amazing,” he said. “I can't describe it because it was super cool, always my dream. I watched two UFC events in my life and I was always wondering when I was going to fight in the cage and then I fought and I could hear everybody. I even could hear my wife screaming and she was in the top of the arena. So it was crazy, man. It was good. I didn't feel nervous about it, so I had fun. I enjoyed it a lot.”
So Yasmim Santos doesn’t hide behind her hands on fight night?
“No, she's the loudest one,” he laughs. “For this fight, she said she's not going to scream, but I know she's lying.”
If you hear screaming on Saturday night when Santos and Yusuff throw hands, now you know who it is. And with two wins in the UFC already, little Ayron doing his thing (and even making it to practice with dad occasionally), and a big fight coming up, it’s no wonder Santos is in a good place these days. Did I mention that he doesn’t have to cut down to 145 pounds anymore? That may be the biggest victory for the TUF 32 winner.
“I'm very excited for this fight and I just can't wait,” Santos said. “Also, I'm so happy that I don't have to cut down to 145. I'm enjoying camp more because before, I was always worried about the weight. So I'm happy that I'm fighting at 155 and how everything's going and I just can't wait to step in the cage and perform.”
UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Morales took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 17, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!