The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 125

#2 Best – Thiago Santos delivers again

Thiago Santos is one of the UFC's most reliable and violent action fighters

While he’s not in any conversation when it comes to Middleweight title contention right now, there’s no denying that few fighters inside the UFC guarantee action quite like Thiago ‘Marreta’ Santos. The hulking Brazilian striker picked up his ninth win in the Octagon last night by knocking out Anthony Smith, and impressively it was his eighth finish too – tying the legendary Anderson Silva’s record for the most finishes in UFC Middleweight history.

Obviously, Santos’s competition hasn’t been anywhere near as good as the competition Silva was facing, but you’ve still got to be impressed by someone who has the killer instinct to put away 8 UFC-calibre opponents. Last night he looked sloppy and downright reckless at times, but it didn’t matter – when it came down to it, Smith simply couldn’t hold up to the power of the man whose nickname translates to ‘Sledgehammer’ in English.

Can he move into the top ten soon? I’m not sure – every time he’s looked to step up before he’s faltered, with losses to Uriah Hall, Gegard Mousasi and an inexplicable loss to Eric Spicely sending him back down. And at 34 years old we’re likely looking at the best ‘Marreta’ we’re going to see. But realistically, I don’t care – Santos is a man who I’m always happy to see on a UFC main card because his fights almost guarantee violence. And why else do we watch the UFC?