A re-invented and re-invigorated
Rob
Wilkinson has already taken one big bite out of the apple. Now,
he returns to the table for more.
The Australian will open defense of his
Professional Fighters League light heavyweight title with his
first assignment of 2023, as he locks horns with
Thiago
Santos in the
PFL 1 co-headliner on Saturday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels
in Las Vegas. Wilkinson steps back into the spotlight on a
six-fight tear. He last appeared at the 2022 PFL Championships,
where he nailed down his $1 million prize with a second-round
technical knockout of
Omari
Akhmedov in their Nov. 25 light heavyweight final. Santos,
meanwhile, has lost five of his past six bouts. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran last competed on Aug. 6,
when he succumbed to a volley of punches and elbows from
Jamahal
Hill in the fourth round of their UFC on ESPN 40 main
event.
As Wilkinson and Santos tie up any remaining loose ends ahead of
their forthcoming clash at 205 pounds, a look at some of the
numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
31: Years of age for Wilkinson, who was born on Feb. 22, 1992 in
Hobart, Tasmania.
7: Wilkinson victories by submission, accounting for 41% of his
career total (17). His methods of choice: three rear-naked chokes,
two guillotine chokes, one triangle choke and one armbar. Wilkinson
holds nine other victories by knockout or technical knockout (53%)
and one more by decision (6%).
10: Rounds completed by Wilkinson as a professional mixed martial
artist. He has gone the distance on one occasion and did so
triumphantly, having outpointed
Ben
Kelleher to a unanimous decision at a Submission Fight Night
show in August 2013.
82: Seconds needed for Wilkinson to punch out
Daniel
Almeida under the Hex Fight Series banner on April 9, 2021.
Nearly two years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.
.819: Cumulative winning percentage between the two
opponents—
Israel
Adesanya and
Siyar
Bahadurzada—who have beaten Wilkinson. They sport a combined
record of 47-10-1.
39: Years of age for Santos, who was born in Rio de Janeiro on Jan.
7, 1984.
15: Santos wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for
68% of his career total (15). His list of victims includes
Jan
Blachowicz,
Jimi Manuwa,
Anthony
Smith,
Jack
Hermansson and
Nate
Marquardt. Santos owns one other win by submission (5%)—he put
away
Eneas Souza
with a third-round rear-naked choke at a Watch Out Combat Show
event in December 2011—and six more by decision (27%).
9: Knockdowns landed by Santos as a UFC middleweight, placing him
fifth on the promotion’s all-time list at 185 pounds. Only
Anderson
Silva (13), Marquardt (12), Adesanya (12) and
Yoel Romero
(10) have been credited with more.
2: Sub-minute stoppages on the Santos resume. He took care of
Ronny
Markes with a body kick and follow-up punches in 53 seconds at
UFC Fight Night 38 on March 23, 2014 and cut down
Steve Bosse
with a head kick in 29 seconds at UFC Fight Night 70 on June 27,
2015.
239: Combined victories between the 11 opponents—Hill,
Magomed
Ankalaev,
Aleksandar
Rakic,
Glover
Teixeira,
Jon Jones,
David
Branch,
Eric
Spicely,
Gegard
Mousasi,
Uriah Hall,
Cezar
Ferreira and
Vicente
Luque—who have defeated Santos. They boast a cumulative .785
winning percentage at 239-68-4.