A light heavyweight division fight has been added to UFC 231 as #5 Jimi Manuwa faces Thiago Santos, while Eryk Anders replaces an injured Antonio Carlos Jr. against #13 Elias Theodorou, both fights were first reported by Aaron Bronsteter of TSN Sports.
Manuwa (17-4-0) is going to be entering the contest in the midst of a two fight losing streak, dropping fights to the duo of Volkan Oezdemir and Jan Blachowicz. Manuwa hasn’t won a bout in well over a year, with that last victory coming over Corey Anderson at UFC Fight Night 107. Manuwa was originally supposed to fight Santos in the main event of UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo 2018, but pulled out of the bout due to an injury.
Santos (19-6-0) is currently undefeated as a light heavyweight in the UFC, having defeated Eryk Anders by third round TKO in the main event of UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo 2018. Santos is a fighter known for finishing bouts, with nineteen of his twenty five professional MMA fights ending by either KO/TKO or submission. Santos earned a 10-5-0 record while competing in the UFC Middleweight Division, with his last win in that weight class coming over Kevin Holland at UFC 227.
Theodorou (15-2-0) enters the contest while riding a two bout winning streak, having defeated the duo of Daniel Kelly and Trevor Smith. Theodorou has six his last six bouts go the distance and it has been over three years since the fighter got a finish. Theodorou was the winner of the UFC UItimate Fighter Nations, defeating Sheldon Westcott in the finals of the reality show.
Anders (11-2-0) has won three of five fights under the UFC banner, with those wins coming over the trio of Tim Williams, Rafael Natal and Markus Perez. Anders has previously headlined two UFC cards, but suffered defeats in those main event bouts to Thiago Santos and Lyoto Machida. Anders has averaged four fights a year for the past three years, with 2015 serving as the last time that average wasn’t met.
UFC 231 is taking place on Saturday, December 8 from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with Max Holloway and Brian Ortega headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
