Despite the UFC coming to an agreement on a new Jorge Masvidal deal for at least this weekend’s title fight, Jon Jones and the status of the light heavyweight division is still very much in flux. That hasn’t stopped UFC president Dana White from working to put together a bout with gigantic title implications this September.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the UFC is working on booking No. 5-ranked Glover Teixeira against No. 2-ranked Thiago Santos.
The 40-year-old Teixeira has rattled off four consecutive wins, with the latest being a one-sided beatdown of former No. 1 contender Anthony Smith. He’ll face stiff competition in Santos, who is expected to return from injury after a controversial loss to Jones in 2019, when he tore literally everything in his knee — his ACL, MCL, PCL, and meniscus. Despite appearing to suffer the knee injury early in the second round, Santos went the distance and dropped a split decision to the champ.
With a full bill of health, Santos has eyes on returning to the title picture. But after his 18-year professional career and just one opportunity at the division crown — a 2014 loss to Jon Jones — there’s no doubt Teixeira is ready to leave it all out on the mat for one last shot at UFC gold.