UFC Fight Night 193 Results: Thiago Santos Win over Johnny Walker Headlines Card

UFC returned to its Apex facility in Las Vegas on Saturday night for a card on ESPN+ headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker.

Santos came into the bout on a three-fight losing streak, the longest of his career. One of those losses was a split decision against Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 239. His last victory was against Jan Błachowicz in February 2019.

Walker was fighting for the first time in 12 months. The 29-year-old was set to take on Jimmy Crute in March, but a torn pectoral muscle forced him to withdraw from the bout.

Santos was able to come away with the win in a hard-fought five-round fight. All three judges scored the match 48-47 in favor of the Sledgehammer.

Both fighters made a point of wanting to keep the bout standing. They combined for one takedown attempt in five rounds. (It was unsuccessful by Santos.)

Walker had the overall edge in signature strikes (48-44), but Santos landed a higher percentage (41 to 36). Santos also did the bulk of his damage to the head and body (25 strikes landed), compared to just 16 for Walker.

Santos is in a very interesting spot with the win. He seemed to have a lot of momentum even after the loss to Jones because it was a close fight, but the two subsequent losses really knocked him off course.

The Brazilian star does have a win over current light heavyweight champion Błachowicz, who has won his past five fights since then.

Błachowicz is currently scheduled to defend the title against Glover Teixeira. It seems unlikely that Santos will get back in the championship mix coming off this win, but one more victory could be just the thing that propels him back into contention.

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UFC on ESPN+ Main Card Results

Men's Light Heavyweight: Thiago Santos def. Johnny Walker (unanimous decision; 48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

Men's Middleweight: Kevin Holland vs. Kyle Daukaus (no-contest; accidental headbutt)

Men's Welterweight: Niko Price def. Alex Oliveira (unanimous decision; 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Men's Middleweight: Krzysztof Jotko def. Misha Cirkunov (split decision; 29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Men's Catchweight: Alexander Hernandez def. Max Breeden (first-round KO)

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UFC on ESPN+ Preliminary Card Results

Men's Lightweight: Jared Gordon def. Joe Solecki (split decision; 28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Women's Flyweight: Casey O'Neill def. Antonina Shevchenko (second-round TKO)

Women's Catchweight: Karol Rosa def. Bethe Correia (unanimous decision; 30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Men's Lightweight: Jamie Mullarkey def. Devonte Smith (second-round TKO)

Men's Bantamweight: Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Gaetano Pirrello (first-round KO)

Men's Bantamweight: Alejandro Perez def. Johnny Eduardo (second-round submission)

Women's Bantamweight: Stephanie Egger def. Shanna Young (second-round TKO)

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Kevin Holland vs. Kyle Daukaus (No-Contest)

The co-main event of the evening resulted in a no-contest when Kyle Daukaus accidentally headbutted Kevin Holland midway through the first round.

Immediately after Holland and Daukaus clashed heads, Holland fell to the ground and appeared to be briefly knocked out. Referee Dan Miragliotta was initially unsure of what happened, so the fight continued.

With Holland on the canvas, Daukaus went for the submission with a chokehold. He was initially awarded the win, but on appeal, it was determined that Holland was knocked out by the headbutt.

It would seem likely that UFC tries to set up a rematch between the two fighters very soon.

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Niko Price def. Alex Oliveira

Niko Price is finally back in the win column after defeating Alex Oliveira to end a three-fight winless streak. The Hybrid lost to Vicente Luque at UFC 249, was given a no-contest against Donald Cerrone and suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission because of a positive drug test for carboxy THC, and lost his return fight to Michel Pereira in July.

Price landed 108 total strikes, including 64 signature strikes, compared to 83 and 65 for Oliveira. Both fighters kept things standing for the majority of the bout, with each scoring one takedown over the course of three rounds.

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Krzysztof Jotko def. Misha Cirkunov

The second fight on the main card was much more evenly matched. Krzysztof Jotko and Misha Cirkunov went toe to toe for three rounds. Both fighters landed 41 signature strikes, but Cirkunov had a five-to-one edge in takedowns.

All six takedowns in the fight came in the third round. Jotko did have a 25-16 advantage in total strikes and 16-14 edge in signature strikes in the final round.

Two of the three judges determined Jotko did slightly more damage to give him a split-decision win.

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Alexander Hernandez def. Max Breeden

Alexander Hernandez got the main card off to a roaring start. The Great dropped Mike Breeden, making his UFC debut, 80 seconds into the first round.

Hernandez unleashed a flurry of punches that left Breeden wobbly against the cage. He ended things with a hard right that caught Breeden square on the side of his head.

This was an outstanding performance for Hernandez, who needed to get some of his momentum back. The 29-year-old lost three of his previous five fights, including two by TKO.