RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Jimi Manuwa and Thiago Santos will meet in the main event of UFC Sao Paulo on Sept. 22, but that was not the original plan for the Fight Night card.
Manuwa was matched-up against Glover Teixeira previously, but a shoulder injury forced the Brazilian off the card. With not many options available to replace him, the promotion went with Santos as a plan B — but the idea didn’t interest Manuwa right away.
It was only after some time that Manuwa agreed to take the fight against “Marreta” in Sao Paulo.