Daniel Santos beat Bolaji Oki by unanimous decision on the UFC 333 undercard Saturday, with all three judges scoring it 29-28. He finished the fight exhausted, hurt and still throwing spinning backfists. Afterward, Santos dedicated the win to his late friend and teammate Allan Nascimento.
The scorecards were unanimous. The fight was a lot closer than that.
Cageside Press had Santos pushing forward from the opening bell with body kicks and calf kicks, while Oki worked a jab downstairs and made the Brazilian miss more than he’d have liked. Santos eventually found his timing and landed a right hand that sent Oki backing up. Then Oki slipped on a body kick and fell, and Santos jumped on a guillotine. Oki got his head out.
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That’s where the first round got complicated. An Oki elbow had already cut Santos, and once Oki got on top he landed a hard hammer fist, took the neck when Santos turtled and kneed him to the body. A Santos left hook drew a takedown attempt, Oki finished it and spent the closing stretch shutting down scrambles before settling into side control.
The swing round
Josh Thomson wrote on X during the fight that the opener was closer than people thought and he wouldn’t be shocked if some judges gave it to Santos. Apparently all three did. Aaron Bronsteter, who scored the bout for Oki, posted on X: “I have it 29-28 Oki.” After the cards were read he said he figured a very close first round had gone Santos’ way.
The second round was Santos’ cleanest. He forced Oki to circle, got him down, took his back, and when Oki stood up along the fence Santos kicked his right leg out and put him back on the mat. His kicks kept resetting Oki every time Oki tried to walk him down.
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The third nearly flipped the whole thing. Santos had burned a lot of energy in the grappling and his attacks started to look heavy. Oki stayed patient with his stick-and-move approach, then burst in for a takedown. In the final minute Oki landed a big right hand and started teeing off on a visibly gassed Santos. The Brazilian answered with spinning attacks and both men were swinging when the horn went.
Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting summed up Santos in Portuguese on X, calling him by his nickname Willycat and writing that he’s allergic to bad fights. He also called it a tight win.
The sources don’t say anything about what comes next for either fighter.
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My take: Santos got the decision and he earned the emotional moment that came with it, but Oki is the one whose stock went up. Bronsteter said he was encouraged by how well-rounded and solid Oki looked at 145, and I’m with him. Oki lost a coin-flip first round, nearly finished a tired opponent in the last minute, and came out of a fight against a guy who doesn’t do boring ones looking like he belongs. I’d book either of them again tomorrow.
