http://mmajunkie.com/news/22013/fight-path-is-74-fight-veteran-luis-sapo-santos-the-best-striker-in-mma.mmaFight Path: Is 74-fight veteran Luis "Sapo" Santos the best striker in MMA?
by Kyle Nagel on Jan 07, 2011 at 3:00 pm ET
Given the opportunity, Luis "Sapo" Santos didn't pound his chest or toot his horn despite a staggering professional mixed-martial-arts record he counts at 67-7.
So we'll turn to Jesse Finney, Santos' trainer and manager, to do it for him.
"He could be a UFC or Strikeforce world champion in three fights," Finney told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) earlier this week about the fighter who has been living in the United States for only months now.
Not enough for you?
"He's the best striker in mixed martial arts," Finney said.
Those are strong statements about a fighter who hasn't caused very big ripples in the MMA world, but that's what has those supporting him so baffled, they say. To those close to him, Santos is a frighteningly talented fighter who spent most of his life quite literally in a jungle area battling for attention and as many bouts as he could find.
Now, he's looking for his next opportunity. At 31 and living in St. Louis, Santos travels back and forth to his native Brazil to fight as often as possible. Fighting mostly at 170 pounds, he has won five straight and nine of 10, including a 4-0 showing in 2010.
Finney and those around Santos are now looking to spread the word, hopefully earn him bigger opportunities now that he's in the U.S. (and, therefore, presents fewer logistical problems to organizers) and just allow others to see the moves that cause them disbelief in his training sessions.
If possible, they'd also like fans to understand Santos' silly side, which brings pranks to the gym. At his most serious, though, he wants to entertain. He just needs more people to notice to do that.
"My main goal would be to become a champion with a great organization," Santos wrote in an e-mail. "I like to fight and do it for a living, so to take on the best and make it a great show for fans is always my goal. Fans like the knockout!"
Out of Brazil
Finney has made several connections in Brazil, and a few years ago he started hearing about a powerful fighter who was piling up wins.
Santos was born and raised in Belem, Brazil, in the Amazon. He called his surroundings growing up "nice and peaceful," but no one else in his family was involved in MMA.
Santos, however, got involved in martial arts early, training in judo, jiu-jitsu, boxing and Muay Thai. He made the training a lifelong passion.
Those interests naturally led him into MMA as the sport continued to grow in popularity.
"That's all he knows how to do," Finney said. "He's straight from the jungle. He's very nice, very respectful, but when he fights, he's vicious."
Finney finally got in touch with Santos less than a year ago, and they traded e-mails. Like others, he was curious about the frequent-fighting Brazilian, so he wanted to bring him to his gym, Finney's St. Louis gym.
He just didn't know exactly how impressed he was going to be.
The mysterious record
Santos has been credited with professional MMA fighters for more than 10 years.
His first fights came in 2000, and they came often. His record is listed differently in several places, but Finney said it's actually 67-7. Such frequency takes plenty of preparation, and Santos had made that happen.
"I have tons of fights," he wrote. "Training all the time helps me to stay in shape and ready for a fight at anytime."
Then, once he was able to train with Finney's other fighters, he showed his power immediately.
"We've got a really strong camp, and we come from a big standup background," he said. "There are pro boxers here, strong Muay Thai. When 'Sapo' got here, he was standing and banging with the pro boxers.
"When he's hitting the pads, he has remarkable power, but he also has a lot of speed. He knows how to turn on the power when he wants."
Santos hasn't been able to spend all his time in St. Louis, and he has been traveling back to Brazil to pick up fights when he can. Finney said Santos would fight for any amount of money in the U.S. just to be seen by more people and display his passion for fighting.
He could have fallen into a group of international fighters the bigger organizations know about but whose logistical issues to get into the country to fight cause too many headaches, Finney said. But now that he's here, he wants a chance to compete at the highest level.
And, in case you haven't noticed, Finney is pretty confident in the powerful Brazilian whom he said could also fight at 155 pounds if needed.
"He's not here to be a contender," Finney said. "He's here to be a champion."
Award-winning newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel is the lead features writer for MMAjunkie.com. His weekly "Fight Path" column focuses on the circumstances that led fighters to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter with an interesting story? Email us at news [at] mmajunkie.com.
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