Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s Leonardo Santos decisions Roman Bogatov at ‘UFC 251’ on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Leonardo Santos, 40, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was one of the “UFC 251” winners. The Brazilian mixed martial artist earned his seventh victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Featuring 13 MMA matches, “UFC 251” took place at the UFC Fight Island on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on July 11, 2020 (or July 12, 2020 in the UAE). In the fifth bout of the evening, Santos fought Roman Bogatov, 29, of Orenburg, Russia in the lightweight division.

Marc Goddard served as the referee. After three five-minute rounds, the lightweight contest was left in the hands of the three judges, who all saw it 29-26.

In the end, Goddard raised the hand of Santos. The Rio de Janeiro native was declared the winner via unanimous decision.

Winning at “UFC 251” improved Santos’s professional MMA record to 18 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw. The Brazilian MMA fighter remains undefeated in the UFC and is the first fighter to defeat Bogatov in a professional MMA bout.

Bogatov now has 10 wins and 1 loss. The Russian MMA fighter made his UFC debut at “UFC 251.”

Including Brazil and Russia, 12 countries were represented at “UFC 251.” The others were Australia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Poland, Scotland, Switzerland and the U.S.

Santos was one of the eight fighters who represented Brazil. Bogatov was one of the four representatives of Russia.

In the co-main event, Max “Blessed” Holloway, 28, of Waiane, Hawaii, USA challenged UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski, 31, of Windang, New South Wales, Australia. The defending champion won via split decision.

In the main event, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, 35, of Miami, Florida, USA challenged reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman, 33, who was fighting out of Nigeria by way of Delray Beach, Florida. The defending champion won via unanimous decision.

Born on February 5, 1980, Santos has been competing professionally since 2002. Before joining the UFC, he competed in Shooto, Shooto Brazil, Guarafight, Super Challenge, Mo Team League, Sengoku Raiden Championship, BAMMA and Cage Warriors Fighting Championship.

Santos made his UFC debut in 2013.  The first six opponents he defeated in the promotion were William Macario, Efrain Escudero, Anthony Rocco Martin, Kevin Lee, Adriano Martins and Steven Ray.