From humble 'cockfighting' days in Brazil, Evangelista Santos puts persistency to work

Evangelista Santos

After a long layoff, Evangelista Santos returns on Friday still confident in the way he prepares for MMA – and hopeful that it will pay off in his Legacy FC debut.

Santos (19-16), a Strikeforce veteran, fights Artenas Young (10-9) on Friday in the Legacy FC 50 co-main event at Arena Theatre in Houston. The main card airs on AXS TV.

“In truth, I’ve never been the most technical fighter, but I’ve always been the most persistent,” Santos told MMAjunkie. “It’s a quality I bring with me since my childhood, since my cockfighting days. I never surrender and I always believe it’s possible to find a way to win. My students may lose, but they never give up.”

It’s that type of lesson “Cyborg,” from Brazil, wants to impart on the fighters he finds himself training these days as his fighting career heads into its twilight.

Santos most recently was in action in April 2014, when he was stopped by Melvin Manhoef in a rematch more than eight years in the making. In his career, “Cyborg” has been in the cage with the likes of Gegard Mousasi, plus Nick Diaz and Jordan Mein in his Strikeforce days. But getting over the hump against elite competition never seemed to come for him.

When he fights Young, he’ll be looking for his first win since August 2013. But he continues to prepare as if everyone is watching.

“It’s important that people see that it’s possible to make it so far, even when starting from a very humble place,” he said. “When I was an 18-year kid, I wished to one day fight in Japan and in the United States. People would laugh and tell me to stop dreaming. I didn’t even know I needed a passport. I didn’t know the exact way, but I knew it would happen one day. Only I believed it. My dreams were bigger than my town.

“I was always the guy who trained the hardest so I wouldn’t be caught unprepared. I’ve never had a coach complain that I wasn’t training enough. That’s what brought me this far. I’ve always had faith. I wanted to be a good example for those without the same opportunities. And I got to know the world in the process. If not for fighting, I may have never left my hometown.”

Against Young, Santos takes on a fighter who has hit a similar rough patch with losses in three straight and four of his past five.

But Santos believes he matches up well with him, and that could lead to his hand being raised at the end of the night.

“He’s a taller fighter,” he said. “He’s a good boxer who moves well. I plan to stuff takedowns and use my boxing. I enjoy standup fighting. It’s my primary skill. I’ll keep it on the feet, though I wouldn’t rule out a takedown of my own, at the right moment. This is MMA. If I see the opportunity, I might submit him too. I’m a black belt in both jiu-jitsu and luta livre, even though I enjoy trading on the feet. I’ll be looking to explore his shortcomings. Though I must say that sometimes I have a strategy, and after I get punched once, it all goes out the window.”

For more on Legacy FC 50, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.