Aaron Bronsteter returns with his UFC Notebook following Fight Night in Sao Paulo, Brazil that saw Santos outlasts Anders in the main event.

Santos outlasts Anders

Thiago Santos is accustomed to scoring early finishes, but when you are as tough as Eryk Anders, who won a BCS Championship as a linebacker for the Alabama Crimson Tide, that’s easier said than done.

An extremely durable Anders, who took the fight against Santos in a weight class heavier than he was accustomed to on less than a week’s notice, was able to last three full rounds against Santos before he eventually was unable to continue at the end of the round in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Following three fast-paced rounds where Anders absorbed 100 significant strikes and after being hit with a barrage of elbows when attempting a takedown, Anders was unable to get to his corner after sustaining the damage paired with his exhaustion.

Santos has won six of his last seven fights and looked good in his first light heavyweight outing, landing the most strikes that he has landed in a single fight.

Nogueira scores knockout win, two veterans retire

At age 42 and plagued by injuries, the expectations were low for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira heading into his fight against Sam Alvey, who had two wins this year following a move to light heavyweight.

However, Nogueira rose to the occasion in his home country when he scored a knockout win over Alvey early into the second round.

Nogueira earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus as a result of his knockout win.

The win came after two other veterans of the UFC retired earlier in the night when one-time middleweight title challenger Thales Leites and lightweight Evan Dunham, a veteran of twenty UFC fights, retired earlier in the evening.

Leites retired after handing former Bellator middleweight champion and judo Olympian Hector Lombard his sixth straight loss, while Dunham retired after being on the receiving end of a liver kick from Francisco Trinaldo.

Oliveira breaks submission record

At age 28, Charles Oliveira has already competed 21 times in the UFC and having earned 11 fight night bonuses going into this fight, he has delivered exciting bouts on many occasions. His submission victory over Christos Giagos on his home soil broke a long-standing UFC record for the most submission victories, held by Royce Gracie for nearly 24 years.

The rear naked choke victory marked Oliveira’s 11th submission victory, setting a new record. Oliveira earned yet another Performance of the Night bonus with the win, bringing his cumulative total to $600,000 over his career.

Following the win, Oliveira said that he hoped to move back down to featherweight and named Jose Aldo, Renato Moicano and Zabit Magomedsheripov as prospective opponents.

Attendance and Bonuses

UFC Fight Night at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil drew 9,485 attendees. The gate was undisclosed.

In addition to Nogueira and Oliveira earning bonuses, both Anders and Santos earned a bonus for their terrific main event fight. All four fighters receive an additional $50,000 as a result.

Woodley unable to fight at UFC 230

Following his victory over Darren Till earlier this month in the main event of UFC 228 in Dallas where he retained the UFC middleweight title, there were hopes that Tyron Woodley could fight again in November at UFC 230, likely against former interim champion Colby Covington.

Those hopes were quashed after a report from ESPN’s Ariel Helwani stated that Woodley required surgery and would be unable to compete in that time frame.

The main event for UFC 230 is expected to be announced in the coming days as tickets go on sale this week. One name that UFC president Dana White said to rule out was the soon to be reinstated former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who White said he expects will fight early next year.

Blackzillians founder Robinson passes away

Glenn Robinson, the founder of the Blackzillians team and MMA apparel brand Jaco passed away due to a suspected heart attack on Thursday.

Robinson had endured financial and health struggles in the year prior to his death, which was confirmed by his former publicist Jen Wenk.

Robinson was a prominent figure on the 21st season of The Ultimate Fighter, which featured the Blackzillians Team against American Top Team, a Florida-based rival gym.

Welterweight contender Kamaru Usman, then a part of the Blackzillians, emerged as one of the show’s winners.

The team most notably featured Rashad Evans, Anthony Johnson, Michael Johnson, Jorge Santiago, Tyrone Spong and several others.

In the years following the show, The Blackzillians disbanded and most members ended up following Henri Hooft to a new gym called Hard Knocks 365.