ONE Championship 39's Luis Santos struggling to understand Rafael Silva booking

Luis Santos

Luis Santos said he isn’t entirely sure why he’s fighting Rafael Silva this weekend at ONE Championship 39.

Santos (61-9-1) said Silva (40-15) hasn’t had any success under the ONE Championship banner. He said he’s predictable in his fights, and he said he vows to knock out his fellow Brazilian welterweight in Saturday’s headliner, which takes place at Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia. The event streams via online pay-per-view in North America.

If Santos had things his way, he said he’d be taking on champion Ben Askren once more. The pair fought to a controversial no-contest in April and had a rematch booked for November before Santos missed weight and the fight was canceled.

“Sapo” wanted another chance to settle the score with Askren, he said, and he thought ONE Championship would give it to him. Instead he gets Silva, a fighter who’s faltered in both of his appearances with the promotion.

“I didn’t understand it, but that’s fine by me,” Silva told MMAjunkie of his upcoming fight. “I’m here to fight whoever the organization puts in front of me. They booked me against Rafael Silva, so off we go – another victory. I’m highly confident I’ll have a great fight. I’m very ready. I know that it will be a great knockout.”

Santos vs. Silva is the definition of a veteran matchup, with 127 pro fights and a wealth of experience between them. Santos said his unpredictability gives him a tremendous edge over his opponent, though.

With 35 knockout victories on his resume – 32 more than Silva – Santos said he has far more tools to finish the fight. Additionally, he said Silva’s long career has forced him into a rut and that his strategy is essentially the same every fight. If he doesn’t bring something new to the table in his next bout, though, Santos said he’s going to make him pay.

“Rafael is highly experienced, with 40 victories,” Santos said. “But I haven’t seen that he’s faced any great fighters. And the two times he fought in ONE, he lost by unanimous decision. I’m very ready to face him. We’ve studied his game. He always does the same thing in every fight. I’m ready to win by a knockout. That’s what I want.”

Santos said he hopes a victory will set up another opportunity to fight Askren. However, that’s not currently his main priority, he said. Santos’ lack of professionalism around the canceled Askren rematch damaged his reputation, and the fight with Silva is the opportunity to build some of that back.

If he can do that, another chance to hold ONE Championship gold could eventually come his way.

“I’m not thinking about the future,” Santo said. “I’m an employee of the promotion. I’ll be ready to fight anyone. I always say that. I fight anyone. I like to fight. I like to be at the gym, training. Despite my long record, I haven’t had serious injuries. I sometimes feel physically and mentally tired, but it’s necessary to remain positive to keep on winning.”

For more on ONE Championship 39, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.