Still fresh of his UFC debut victory at UFN 5, Jorge Santiago is returning to the UFC’s octagon against Chris Leben in Ultimate Fight Night 6. Still fresh of his UFC debut victory at UFN 5, Jorge Santiago is returning to the UFC’s octagon against Chris Leben in Ultimate Fight Night 6. Denis Martins: Hey Santiago, your UFC debut couldn’t have been better than when you TKO’d Justin Levens at UFN 5 (June 28th).
Jorge Santiago: I’m very glad with that victory; everything I trained I could impose and the outcome couldn’t be better with that TKO victory. I thank God the stuff worked.
DM: You’re a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter, but you finished the fight against Levens by strikes. So do you think you have already displayed that you’re ready for all of a fight’s battlefield?
JS: Like I said before, I try to fight in all conditions of a fight. I hope to have an opportunity to display that I can face any fighter in my category in the UFC. I’ll keep working to gain a place among the top of this category. DM: Is this true you still haven’t watch your fight against Levens?
JS: Yes, I haven’t, and I don’t remind myself exactly how the fight developed itself (laughs) only flashes. By what they told me, they’ll show this fight in the future, and I hope to watch too.
DM: Only flashes?
JS: The fight was quick, but what I remember is that I liked the environment of the UFC, I felt pretty comfortable, without any pressure. I was so confident and defeat never came across mymind on that fight.
DM: Levens stated he wanted you to standing against him, so what did you think about his stand-up game?
JS: I knew about it, and I faked I’d try to take him down instead of the frank trade of blows. The fight developed and I found myself well on the feet so I unloaded a few strikes. So his game was in my mind and I pushed the pace over him. I only waited for the good moment to insert my style.
DM: Did you hear he thought on retiring himself from MMA?
JS: Yes, I did.
DM: Did you traumatize him? JS: I didn’t do anything(laughs). I think he considered the idea of leaving the MMA because he lost the third in a row, I don’t know if he proceeded with the idea of retiring himself…
DM: Your teammate(Tiago “PitBull” Alves) fought at the same event and lost to Jon Fitch. How did you see that fight?
JS: I don’t think that Alves made a mistake with his strategy. We’re sure Fitch had his own one and he got to block Alves’ main tools. That was the Fitch’s day!
DM: In our pre-fight interview(UFN 5) you mentioned the name of Anderson Silva as one of the best fighters of this category, even though he didn’t debut yet. And now? Do you think he showed what you expected from him?
JS: I’m a fan of Anderson Silva, no doubts he’s one of the best and dangerous fighters of this category.
DM: Your next fight is against the contestant who lost to Anderson, Chris Leben. Are you going to explore the weakness Leben displayed against Anderson?
JS: Leben is a tough guy, and I expect to make a similar game to Anderson’s one against Leben. However I don’t see any trouble if the fight hits the ground. Only in the fight’s moment will I see what Leben will offer me.
DM: Do you think Leben can use the same kind of style he did against Luigi Fioravanti at UFN 4(April 6th) to guarantee a victory over you?
JS: In all my fights I step on the ring with an image in my mind of a tough 3×5 rounds fight without any stopping for a moment of rest. Against Leben, it’s not going to be any different.
DM: Leben needs a victory to erase his performance at UFN 5- so are you ready to use his responsibility in your favor?
JS: Once again I’m the underdog at a fight- Leben will have to search for another fighter to beat, not Santiago. I was clear in my last fight, I mean, I fought and I tried to show I came to stay along thetop fighters of this division. The audience of my fights can be sure I’ll always display my maximum to come across like the winner with an astonishing game.
DM: ATT had fighters in last three UFCs (TUF 3 Finale, UFN 5 and UFC 61) with 2 victories and 2 defeats. But even those who lost (Wilson Gouveia and Alves) are returning soon to the show. Has ATT already marked its name in the UFC?
JS: No doubt about it. If we’re there it’s because we have all the conditions of becoming champions in the UFC’s divisions. We left a great impression in our victories or defeats, so we see ATTers scheduled in nearly all UFC shows. This is the results of a good job and you all can expect more.