Mairon Santos had a sour taste in his mouth the last time he left the T-Mobile Arena, and returning to the same venue in Las Vegas to face Muhammad Naimov at Saturday’s UFC 323 will give him an opportunity for redemption.
Santos won a season of The Ultimate Fighter in August 2024, and then won a UFC 313 bout in Las Vegas in March 2025, winning a very controversial split decision against Francis Marshall. Santos rewatched the bout and thought he deserved to lose, so going back to that same arena has a personal meaning for him.
“Fighting in Vegas is like fighting at home,” Santos told MMA Fighting. “I’m excited. It’s going to be great because it’ll be at T-Mobile. Once again the UFC is putting me on a big card, the last pay-per-view of the year. It’s another opportunity to redeem myself from the last time I fought at T-Mobile and put on a great performance.”
The Brazilian featherweight beat Sodiq Yusuff via decision in his most recent appearance at the UFC APEX in May, improving to 16-1 in the sport and 3-0 under the company banner, and said that performing in front of a large crowd doesn’t affect his mindset because “once the cage door closes, it could be UFC, LFA, or my backyard, my focus is always the same.”
“I’m very happy to be fighting him,” Santos said of Naimov. “I don’t even know if he knows it, but LFA offered me this fight years ago. He was also fighting in the U.S. regional circuit, but days later I got a new opponent. I’ve always known who he was even before the UFC. In my opinion, he should be ranked. He’s 5–1 in the UFC and only lost to Felipe Lima, which is no shame at all. Getting five UFC wins is really hard, and he beat some good guys. He’s a guy who will put me right at the door of the rankings.”
Naimov’s two-fight winning streak also includes a decision over Kaan Ofli, followed up by a victory against Bogdan Grad in July, and Santos vows to “frustrate” the Tajikistani talent.
“I see him as a complete opponent, but at the same time, even though he can do everything, I don’t think he’s a specialist in anything,” Santos said. “I’m going in there to do what I do best, which is striking. That’s my mindset. I want to frustrate him wherever he decides to take the fight and win before the end.”
“I’m training hard to finish this fight because my last two wins were decisions and that’s not how I want my fights to end,” he continued. “I know what I can do. I could’ve pushed for the knockout in my last fight, but I think I was a bit hesitant because of my previous fight. And honestly, it was good to win by decision because the previous one had been controversial, and it felt good to get a clear win. But now that phase is over, and in this fight, man, I do see myself knocking him out. Not in the first round, but in the second or third. I don’t think he’ll handle the pressure and I’ll knock him out.”
Santos’ most recent win over Yusuff was at lightweight, but he doesn’t really consider that a 155-pound contest since they are both natural featherweights. The 25-year-old plans, however, to eventually test waters at lightweight because that could be weight class in the future.
“I see myself like a Max Holloway, who built his career at 145 and eventually moved up,” Santos said. “I want to fight at 145. I think it’s an interesting division. I like my height and reach for the weight class, it fits my game. I feel 145 is better for me and where I want to stay right now. … If I fought at lightweight, I know I could fight four times a year, maybe five — like Kevin Holland. But at featherweight, I need to take a little more care of my body because everyone knows how to make weight, but I want to always make weight properly to perform well.”
