Santiago gets second chance, returns to UFC
After being released by the UFC following back-to-back knockout losses in 2006, Jorge Santiago was just another talented fighter who it seemed would fail to live up to his potential.
Instead, he decided to learn what it would take to succeed at the highest level of mixed martial arts.
Santiago gets a second chance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after going 11-1 in the last four years outside the organization.
“It’s good to be back here,” said Santiago, who will fight Brian Stann at UFC 130 on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden. “It’s a great feeling, and it’s about time to come back and finish what I started.”
He said the key to finding himself as a fighter wasn’t so much about technique as it was about attitude.
“I was just a kid then,” the 30-year old said of his first UFC stint. “I never worried about accomplishing anything. I was just having fun. I’ve become a real professional since I left, and I think that’s a big difference.”
With all his success outside the UFC, Santiago is widely considered one of the top 10 middleweights in the world. He said he is now more prepared for the challenge.
“My goal has been to get better. I wasn’t rushing to get back here,” he said. “I’m much more hungry than before. Now is the time to come back and accomplish big things.”
The pay-per-view card features a main event between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Matt Hamill and a matchup of Las Vegas heavyweights Frank Mir and Roy Nelson.
■ SONNEN UPDATE — The California State Athletic Commission has clarified the terms of UFC fighter Chael Sonnen’s suspension.
After a Wednesday hearing on the middleweight’s suspension, the commission ruled the fighter would be suspended until June 29 and couldn’t apply for a license in the state until May 18, 2012.
On Friday, the CSAC issued a release stating Sonnen could apply for a license after June 29.
He was originally suspended one year, which was reduced to six months on appeal, for testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone after losing to champion Anderson Silva in Oakland, Calif., in August.
The commission amended the penalty to an indefinite suspension after detecting discrepancies in his testimony during his appeal. Sonnen’s guilty plea to a felony money laundering charge was also cited.
■ NEW YORK UPDATE — A bill to legalize MMA in New York passed through the New York Senate by a 42-18 vote on Monday and will go on to the state Assembly.
A similar bill got through the same chamber last year by a 32-26 margin but was never brought up for vote in the Assembly.
The Assembly bill has been inactive since being referred to the tourism subcommittee in February.
■ DIAZ WON’T BOX — The boxing promoter who arranged a bout between Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz and former world boxing champion Jeff Lacy announced Monday that the fight won’t take place this fall as originally planned.
Don Chargin said in a news release that Diaz had an “opportunity of a lifetime” in his MMA career.
Diaz has been seeking a fight against UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, but the organization has not confirmed a matchup of the two.
■ TUFF-N-UFF — The local amateur promotion will have a new home Friday when it hosts its first event at Cox Pavilion.
The organization usually hosts shows at The Orleans.
This week’s card features a middleweight title bout between Ben Sergent and champion Edmond Xhelili.
Also, Chris Barden meets Larry Mir, the cousin of Frank Mir, and Matt Church takes on David Jordan in a battle of undefeated prospects.
■ LESNAR BOOK RELEASED — “Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival,” the autobiography of former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, will be released today by HarperCollins Publishers.
The book details Lesnar’s rise to NCAA wrestling champion and WWE superstardom before leaving professional wrestling for the challenge of competing in professional mixed martial arts.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.