Thiago Santos issues statement after loss to Glover Teixeira at UFC Vegas 13

Thiago Santos has taken to his official social media account so as to issue a statement following his loss to Glover Teixeira at UFC Vegas 13. Marretta faced Teixeira in a fight that would decide the No.1 Contender in the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division.

With current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jan Blachowicz, set to fight UFC Middleweight titlist Israel Adesanya in a super fight, the winner of the Santos vs. Teixeira matchup would be next in line for a shot at the 205-pound title.

Given the high stakes of their bout, both Santos and Teixeira put on a back-and-forth war throughout the duration of their fight. The end came in Round three when Teixeira locked in a picture-perfect rear-naked choke that forced Santos to tap out.

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER!🇧🇷 @GloverTeixeira gets the finish in RD 3️⃣. #UFCVegas13 pic.twitter.com/gyFuea8T4N

— UFC (@ufc) November 8, 2020

Thiago Santos apologizes for his performance at UFC Vegas 13

Thiago Santos almost finished Glover Teixeira multiple times during their matchup, as Marretta had his foe rocked and even knocked down more than once.

However, Santos was consistently troubled by Teixeira’s outstanding grappling abilities which, in turn, proved to be his undoing in Round three.

In fact, Teixeira came close to finishing Santos with a rear-naked choke in round two of their bout. However, Marretta was saved by the bell.

The third round featured Santos once again rock and drop Teixeira with his excellent boxing. However, Teixeira recovered to turn the fight into a grappling affair. He eventually took Santos’ back and craftily worked his way towards locking in the fight-ending rear-naked choke in round three of their thrilling bout.

Marretta took to social media and issued an apology to his coaches, family and supporters. Having lost out on the No.1 Contender’s spot in the UFC Light Heavyweight division, Thiago Santos took to his Twitter account and opened up on his loss.

Santos noted that he’s disappointed, and proceeded to insinuate that he didn’t showcase the things he’d trained in preparation for the all-important clash against Teixeira.

"I'm so disappointed by myself, I didn't anything what I have trained, I wasn't there. I just wanna say sorry to my coaches, my family and everyone who support me. thank you God for everything in my life, I am so blessed, nothing can change my faith."

I'm so disappointed by myself, I didn't anything what I have trained, I wasn't there. I just wanna say sorry to my coaches, my family and everyone who support me. thank you God for everything in my life, I am so blessed, nothing can change my faith.

— Thiago Marreta (@TMarretaMMA) November 8, 2020

The consensus in the MMA community is that in spite of his stoppage defeat at the hands of Glover Teixeira, Thiago Santos is likely to face another top-ranked Light Heavyweight opponent in his next Octagon outing.