Thiago Santos breaks down loss to Teixeira: ‘I was not there’

Thiago Santos did not make an appearance in the UFC during the ESPN + 40 post-fight press conference.

Moments earlier, Santos (21-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) hit a bare back choke in the third round against fellow Brazilian Glover Teixeira (32-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) in the main event. It was Santos’ long-awaited return after surgeries on both knees.

A win would have kept him in the light heavyweight title picture less than two years after suffering a close decision loss to former champion Jon Jones in a fight many believed he had done enough to win for become champion. Instead, the thwarted loss gave Santos two straight losses and put him back in the field for the title contention.

Santos posted his first public comments on the loss on Sunday on his