Elizeiu Zeleski dos Santos
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos got his call to join the UFC as a backup fighter for Josh Koscheck at UFC Fight Night 62.
“The week of (the event) which was held in Rio de Janeiro, I was notified that I would be ‘plan B’ against Erick Silva,” dos Santos told MMAjunkie. “That was in case Koscheck didn’t have enough time to get a work visa for Brazil.”
Already a titleholder in Brazil’s Jungle Fight promotion, dos Santos had a quick decision to make. He chose to vacate his title and wait for the call that could change his career. Only, it never came.
“Koscheck was able to fight,” dos Santos said. “I remained under contract with the UFC.”
The deal led to a debut under much better circumstances, with dos Santos booked opposite Nicolas Dalby at UFC Fight Night 67. But after three rounds, Dalby took home a split-call win, leaving dos Santos wondering when his breakthrough would come.
A subsequent elbow surgery pushed back his next UFC fight and upped the chance for cage rust.
With a booking at tonight’s UFC on FOX 19 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., dos Santos (14-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) hopes his moment is now. He opens up the card on UFC Fight Pass before the rest of the event on FOX.
“My learning experience is that I have to go after victory with more zeal,” he said. “We never know what will happen when it goes to the judges. So we have to either win by stoppage, or at least dominate 70 percent or more of every round.”
That’s pretty much what the UFC tells every single fighter on the roster to chase, regardless of how realistic it is every time they step into the octagon. But against his second UFC opponent, Omari Akhmedov (15-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC), he might not have a choice.
Akhmedov has stopped seven opponents via knockout, including his first UFC opponent, Thiago de Oliveira Perpetuo. But he was also stopped in his most recent bout against “TUF: Brazil” finalist Sergio Moraes.
“He’s extremely tough,” dos Santos said of his opponent, whom he faces on the UFC Fight Pass-streamed prelims. “He comes from a place, (Dagestan), that has many great fighters. His two UFC losses were to top opponents (Gunnar Nelson and Sergio Moraes). But that only motivates me. That’s the type of opponent I like to face.
“Our styles match up well. I’ll move forward the entire time. He likes to strike and to throw counters. That’s good for me. I like to bang it out, especially against top guys. If we hit the ground, I’ll submit him, no doubt. And if we’re standing, at the first opportunity, I’ll knock him out.”
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