LAS VEGAS, NEVADA---Elias Theodorou, undefeated no more!
Entering UFC Fight Night 80, with a 11-0 professional record (3-0 in UFC), "The Spartan" Elias Theodorou walked into the ring with a chance to earn a spot in the middleweight rankings.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
Although the Canadian fed Brazilian Thiago Santos a heavy dose of straight kicks, which were landed with great force, halfway through the first round his opponent offered a kick that caught him square in the chest. In fact, he didn't just hit Theodorou, he sent him against the side of the octagon! Nevertheless, the unbeaten fighter was able to regroup and, in this journalist's opinion, win the first round. So far so good!
Coming out not discouraged, Santos immediately attacked with a kick, punch combo to start Round 2. Next, getting Theodorou in the clinch, he deviated from his main skill of striking, and enforced the "ground and pound" with a series of elbows to his opponent's head.
Additionally, the man nicknamed "Marreta" performed his second takedown of the round with 25 seconds left. Was momentum swaying in favor of Santos? Not completely, as Theodorou swiftly scrambled and took down Santos! However, the bell quickly sounded, and we were heading to the third!
After a referee break up with 3:38 remaining, Santos finally seized momentum by bloodying the whole right side of Theodorou's face. Later in the final round, he 'hurt' "The Spartan" with a knee to the head, which also led to multiple head shots.
Despite how the last round started, Theodorou did have one final chance to gather himself thanks to an eye poke stoppage with 37 seconds remaining. Sadly for him, it didn't help, for following a takedown, Santos rocked him with more head shots that staggered him yet again. The fate of the fight was sealed and Thiago Santos had claimed his third win of the year while moving to a professional mark of 12-3 (29-28, 29-27, 29-27 unanimous decision in favor of him).