Jackson Santa Cruz locked up a rear naked choke and finished in the first round. Image- UFL
Jackson ‘Samurai’ got another win at the United Fight League, a mixed martial arts event that took place on August 30th in Arizona. After his last performance in the UFL completed a year, the Brazilian athlete stepped into the cage once again and defeated Anvar Boyanazarov with a rear naked choke in the first round of the fight.
UFL, Jackson’s organization, promises originality for next year
The United Fight League, or UFL, is an organization that promises to revolutionize MMA competitions with a proposal for combat between leagues. The intention is to be known as the NBA of mixed martial arts with eight teams dueling in 2025.
In this recent edition, the clash between teams has already taken place and Jackson represented the Phoenix team, coached by Henry Cejudo, against Las Vegas. For having finished in the first round, Jackson guaranteed 4 points for the Phoenix team. The scoring will work as follows: 4 points for a submission in the first round, 3 points if the finish comes in the second round and two points if it happens in the third round. In victories by decision, the team scores one point.
Unexpected event made ‘Samurai’ act more effectively
In an interview with VF Comunica after his victory, Jackson Santa Cruz shared his experience in more detail. The plan to calculate the distance to be able to apply a takedown and finish his opponent was a strategy planned from the beginning. However, due to an unforeseen event, finishing the fight as quickly as possible became an urgent matter for Jackson.
“Anvar is very dangerous with his knee. I trained a lot to avoid his knee and one of my strategies was to fake the takedown, throw the overhand and enter the legs, but when I did that at the beginning of the fight he caught me in time with a knee strike that broke my jaw. At that moment I realized that something had happened because I couldn’t bite the protector, but my mind was very focused on the strategy and I followed the plan. I managed to take him down and submit him.”.
Due to the injury, Jackson ‘Samurai’ has no choice but to recover. On September 3, he underwent jaw repair surgery and is now focused on a full recovery.
“The focus now is to recover my jaw. I had surgery on the 3rd and when I’m recovered and ready for action, we’ll see what the organization’s plans are for me. I just ask that they keep me active, I like to fight!”.
Fully dedicated to MMA today, Jackson ‘Samurai’ was once an active athlete fighting Gi Jiu-Jitsu. The black-belt, who dreams of joining the UFC, achieved important achievements in the Gentle Art before joining MMA. Jiu-Jitsu is the athlete’s base and he says he wants to return to the mat when he has exhausted his possibilities in mixed martial arts.
“I really like training in the Gi. I feel that the mental aspects that training and fighting with the Gi work on are different. They are more strategic and force you to think more about the steps ahead of the movement. But now my focus is completely on MMA. The time to make things happen is now. But yes, plans for the future will happen with God’s permission. When I retire from MMA, I want to return to Jiu-Jitsu competitions.”.
