A Sense of Urgency

Reality has forced Leonardo Santos to familiarize himself with a strange sensation: his back being up against the proverbial wall in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division.

The Nova Uniao mainstay will carry a two-fight losing streak—the first such skid of his 20-year career—into his UFC 278 undercard pairing with Jared Gordon on Saturday at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. Plenty of questions surround Santos as he returns to the Octagon following back-to-back losses to Grant Dawson and Clay Guida.

“It had never happened to me before,” he told Sherdog.com. “I was undefeated for 10 or 11 years. Most of that time was spent at the highest level in the UFC. Now, these two losses happened. There’s a certain pressure on me, not for my job but due to my being used to winning. Since my early days in jiu-jitsu, this is this first time I’ve been in this position. It’s another experience I have to deal with. The goal now is to get back to winning. That’s what I expect will happen in my next bout.”

Gordon figures to have much to say about those plans. The former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder last appeared at UFC on ESPN 35, where he submitted to a rear-naked choke from the aforementioned Dawson in the third round of their April 30 confrontation. However, Gordon has won four of his past six bouts and owns a 6-4 record in the UFC, with victories over Michel Quinones, Dan Moret, Chris Fishgold, Danny Chavez, Joe Solecki and Santos stablemate Hacran Dias. He trains out of the revered Sanford MMA camp in Florida.

“He is tough,” Santos said. “He mostly wins by decision. He knows the ground game, and he enjoys striking. It won’t be easy. Ultimately, I think we’ll mostly be on the mat since he likes to maintain pressure and feels confident about his grappling. That’s what I expect.”

Despite the recent adversity, Santos remains true to his roots. “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” Season 2 winner continues to hone his craft under longtime coach Andre Pederneiras.

“I’ve been getting help from the same guys with whom I’ve been training for a million years,” Santos said. “There are a lot of excellent guys here. The one thing that’s never lacking at Nova Uniao is access to training partners. I’m well taken care of.”

Santos, who turned 42 in February, understands the sentiment and doubt people feel toward him in what most view as a young man’s game. He just happens to disagree with it.

“That’s an advanced age for MMA,” Santos said. “The main thing is the mindset, motivation and positive attitude. Nowadays, I’m feeling great. I don’t know how I’ll feel after this next bout, but as of today, I feel I could go for another five years.”