UFC 175's Bruno Santos describes bizarre feelings in UFC debut

Bruno Santos insists it wasn’t a case of octagon jitters. Mentally, he said, he was feeling just fine.

Still, when he made his promotional debut and put an undefeated record on the line against Krzysztof Jotko at UFC Fight Night 33 in December, something just wasn’t right.

Santos, who looks to rebound tonight at UFC 175, still struggles to find the words.

“That fight was at a pivotal moment,” Santos, who suffered a unanimous-decision loss, told MMAjunkie. “I wasn’t at 100 percent. I don’t know if the trip to Australia was a factor. It was also short notice. I know that my performance was below par.

“I felt very tired and weak. My body didn’t respond well. But it’s useless to make excuses. I simply didn’t win. This time I expect things to be better since it’s not far, and I think I’m better trained too.”

Santos (13-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), a 26-year-old Brazilian, traveled to Las Vegas for tonight’s UFC 175 bout with Chris Camozzi (19-7 MMA, 6-4 UFC) at Mandalay Bay Events Center. The middleweight bout airs on FOX Sports 1 prior to the night’s pay-per-view main card.

Santos said he feels better heading into his second UFC bout. But even before the first one, he knew there was a problem. He felt it throughout his camp as he recovered from shoulder surgery.

“By body just wasn’t reacting on time,” he said. “There were moments where I should have done something (in the fight), but it didn’t happen. The body’s response was delayed. It wouldn’t obey me. After that fight, after resting, we were able to clearly see where adjustments should have been made.

“If anything, fighting in the UFC was an exciting and positive thing. Even the weigh-ins are a show. I felt very motivated by the whole experience. I think the fact that I was rusty after going through surgery may have been more the case. But now I’m focused on the next fight. I’m going to correct my mistakes and keep moving forward.”

That’s why he’s thankful for a fight with Camozzi, a 10-fight UFC vet who’s faced some of the 185-pound division’s top names. It’s just the type of opponent and potential win that Santos can use to prove he belongs on MMA’s biggest stage.

“I want to prove that I wasn’t myself in my previous fight,” he said. “The best way to prove it is to have an aggressive fight against Camozzi.”

Santos said that’s been a theme of his career. While his past 11 fights have gone to the scorecards, he insists it’s not due to a lack of trying or production. Instead, he said, he simply opts to fight the toughest opponents he can, which included a 2011 single-night tournament in which he needed seven total rounds to beat three opponents.

“My objective is a good fight,” he said. “Even some of my decision wins were fight-of-the-night material. I’ve always faced opponents who were better than me, at that moment. Losing is never an option. I beat the best opponents in my weight class in Brazil. I even beat three opponents in one night.

“It’s important to keep the right pace in situations like that. Ultimately, winning is what matters.”

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