With four straight knockout wins, UFC middleweight Thiago “Marreta” Santos says he’s ready to take on the division’s elite. We’re not about to disagree. Santos scored a thrilling second-round TKO win over Anthony Smith (28-13 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in the “Fight of the Night” at this past weekend’s Bellator 125 event in Brazil. After a pair of disappointing setbacks to Eric Spicely and Gegard Mousasi in 2016, Santos has since come roaring back with four consecutive knockouts, bringing his UFC record to 8-2 in his previous 10 appearances, and now sits as an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings. Also in the middleweight division, former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (23-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) kept his No. 13 position with a hard-fought win over the formerly undefeated Eryk Anders (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC)
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USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA rankings, Feb. 6: ‘Marreta’ ready to drop hammers – MMA Junkie