Luis Santos Powers To Decision Win Over Kiamrian Abbasov

Luis “Sapo” Santos showed once again that he cannot be counted out.

The hulking welterweight put on a fierce display of powerful striking and world-class grappling, impressing in his win over promotional newcomer Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE: VISIONS OF VICTORY. He also managed to prove that his gas tank is no longer a weakness to be exploited.

As the action got underway, Santos began punishing Abbasov with fierce kicks. He continuously blasted Abbasov to the legs, body, and arms, with each shot sounding like a firecracker going off inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The constant barrage had the Kyrgyz on his bicycle, as he constantly circled away from Santos’ power shots, which were coming at him throughout the opening round.

Santos continued his onslaught into the second frame. He peppered away at Abbasov, who was struggling to find a home for any of his counter strikes. Finally with just over a minute to go, Abbasov decided to change his strategy.

The Kyrgyz became the aggressor, but that backfired with Santos quickly powering forward with a big takedown to bring the action to the mat for the first time in the welterweight contest. “Sapo” was methodical with his advances on the mat, while remaining in control until the bell sounded.

In the final round, Abbasov did his best to see if he could drain the Brazilian’s gas tank by aggressively pursuing him around the cage.

However, a five-month training camp focused on that very problem helped Santos counter that game plan. He ended up landing a pair of big takedowns, and stayed in complete control of Abbasov until the very end.

The judges all agreed that Santos’ grappling, striking, and overall cage control was more than enough to get the nod by unanimous decision.

Santos moves his record to an astonishing 64-10-1. He snaps Abbasov’s 10-bout win streak, and drops his record to 18-4.