UFC Fight Night 137: Santos vs. Anders | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Daniel Cornmeat
- May 20
- 7 min read
Table of Contents
Introduction
UFC Fight Night 137: Santos vs. Anders took place on Saturday, September 22, 2018 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 to 607,000 average viewers (701,000 peak, 243k FS2 prelims). The card drew 9,485 fans. It was a 14-fight event. The main event was a light heavyweight bout between Thiago Santos and Eryk Anders — both of whom were last-minute replacements for the original headliner.
Santos won by TKO at the conclusion of round three in a hard-fought contest, with both fighters earning Fight of the Night. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira earned Performance of the Night for a second-round KO of Sam Alvey. Charles Oliveira earned Performance of the Night for a second-round submission of Christos Giagos. Marina Rodriguez drew with Randa Markos in Rodriguez’s UFC debut. Alex Oliveira knocked out Carlo Pedersoli Jr. in 39 seconds.
São Paulo Returns — Both Headliners Fell Out
The original UFC Fight Night 137 headliner had been Glover Teixeira vs. Jimi Manuwa at light heavyweight. Teixeira withdrew first with an injury. Manuwa was booked as Teixeira’s replacement — but Manuwa then withdrew from his replacement booking with a training injury approximately one week before the event. Thiago Santos and Eryk Anders stepped in as the second generation of replacements, with Anders accepting on approximately one week’s notice.
The promotional context — two replacement fighters headlining a Brazilian card after two cascading withdrawals — reduced the commercial build for the main event. Both Santos and Anders were former middleweights who had recently transitioned to LHW: Santos had moved up after going 3-1 MW in the UFC in 2017-18; Anders had moved up after the Machida loss. The São Paulo crowd’s familiarity with Santos as a local Brazilian fighter gave the bout some home-market resonance despite the replacement narrative.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, September 22, 2018 (São Paulo, Brazil)
📍 Venue: Ginásio do Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil
👥 Attendance: 9,485
📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 — 607,000 avg. viewers (701k peak, 243k FS2 prelims)
🏆 Main Event: Thiago Santos vs. Eryk Anders — LHW (BOTH LAST-MINUTE REPLACEMENTS; Santos stepping up; Anders on ONE WEEK’S NOTICE; original headliner was Teixeira vs. Manuwa)
✅ Result: Santos def. Anders via TKO (strikes) — R3, 5:00 (doctor/corner stoppage after round; FotN $50k each; hard three-round fight between two former MWs at LHW)
Main Event: Santos’ Third-Round TKO of Anders
Santos had moved to LHW after going 3-1 at MW in 2017-18, including wins over Gerald Meerschaert, Jack Marshman, and Jack Hermansson. Anders had gone 5-1 at MW and LHW in the UFC, with his only loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC Fight Night 125. The São Paulo crowd’s support for Santos as a Brazilian fighter created the home-crowd energy the card needed given its headliner replacement narrative.
Anders’ game plan focused on wrestling takedowns: he attempted six takedowns across three rounds, landing some, while Santos countered with ground-and-pound from top position when the positions reversed. Santos’ striking quality dominated the stand-up exchanges. The TKO stoppage at the conclusion of round three — a doctor or corner stoppage between rounds — reflected the cumulative damage Anders absorbed. Both fighters earned Fight of the Night bonuses for the competitive three-round exchange.
Little Nog’s KO PoN, Oliveira’s Sub PoN, Rodriguez’s Draw & The Card
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira’s second-round KO of Sam Alvey at 1:00 of round two was the São Paulo card’s most crowd-pleasing individual result. Nogueira — ‘Little Nog’ — was 42 years old and had not appeared in the UFC since a 2016 loss. His return KO of Alvey before a Brazilian crowd was one of the most emotionally resonant individual results of the 2018 UFC season. His Performance of the Night demonstrated that his punch power remained functional at elite level past age 40.
Charles Oliveira’s submission of Christos Giagos in round two earned Performance of the Night and continued the submission-quality LW career that would eventually produce the UFC LW Championship at UFC 262 in May 2021. Marina Rodriguez’s majority draw with Randa Markos was her UFC debut result — a no-loss debut for a fighter who would subsequently build a top-five UFC SBW ranking with wins over multiple ranked opponents. Alex Oliveira’s 39-second KO of Pedersoli was the card’s fastest finish.
Full Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Thiago Santos def. Eryk Anders — TKO (strikes) — R3, 5:00 — LHW (FotN $50k each; BOTH last-minute replacements; Santos Brazilian home crowd; Anders on 1 week notice; doctor/corner stoppage after R3)
Alex Oliveira def. Carlo Pedersoli Jr. — KO (punches) — R1, 0:39 — WW (card’s fastest finish; 39-second R1 KO)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Sam Alvey — KO (punches) — R2, 1:00 — LHW (PoN $50k; ‘Little Nog’ 42 years old; return KO win before Brazilian crowd!)
Andre Ewell def. Renan Barao — Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) — BW (Barao career decline)
Randa Markos vs. Marina Rodriguez — MAJORITY DRAW (28-29, 28-28, 28-28) — Women’s SBW (RODRIGUEZ’S UFC DEBUT; future top-5 SBW!)
Charles Oliveira def. Christos Giagos — Submission (RNC) — R2, 3:22 — LW (PoN $50k; Oliveira building LW sub career; future LW champion at UFC 262 May 2021!)
Preliminary Card (FS2 / UFC Fight Pass)
Francisco Trinaldo def. Evan Dunham — KO (knee to body) — R2, 4:10 — LW (unusual knee to body KO finish)
Ryan Spann def. Luis Barbosa — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — LHW (Spann building LHW career; future LHW contender)
Augusto Sakai def. Chase Sherman — TKO (strikes) — R3 — HW (Sakai HW debut; future HW contender)
Sergio Moraes def. Elizeu Zaleski — WW (Wait — ESPN shows Zaleski winning; note: Tapology shows Elizeu Zaleski def. L. Vendramini separately; Moraes result uncertain — Brazilian WW prelim)
Marya Bueno Silva def. Gillian Robertson — Women’s SBW
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Thiago Santos + Eryk Anders — $50,000 each
🥇 Performance of the Night: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira + Charles Oliveira — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• Santos and Anders both last-minute headliner replacements — both earning FotN in the process.
• Marina Rodriguez’ UFC debut draw — start of a top-five SBW career.
• Charles Oliveira’s PoN submission — building the LW career that produced the UFC LW Championship at UFC 262 in May 2021.
Legacy & Impact
Santos’ São Paulo TKO win was the beginning of his LHW career phase. He went on to defeat Jimi Manuwa at UFC Fight Night 141 in November 2018 and then received a title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 239 in July 2019 — where he was controversially stopped in round four after injuring both knees. Charles Oliveira’s São Paulo submission win was his third consecutive UFC finish, building the submission-quality LW career that produced wins over David Teymur, Nik Lentz, Clay Guida, and eventually the UFC LW Championship TKO of Michael Chandler at UFC 262 in May 2021.
Marina Rodriguez’ debut draw was the foundation of a UFC SBW career that produced wins over Amanda Ribas, Michelle Waterson, Mackenzie Dern, and Yan Xiaonan before her title fight against Zhang Weili at UFC 285 in March 2023. Ryan Spann’s São Paulo win was an early step in a LHW career that produced wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ion Cutelaba. Augusto Sakai’s HW debut win began a UFC HW career that included a high-profile fight against Alistair Overeem at UFC Fight Night 175.
FAQ
Why did both original headliners fall out?
Glover Teixeira withdrew from the original Teixeira vs. Manuwa headliner with an unspecified injury in August 2018. Jimi Manuwa was then booked as Teixeira’s replacement in the main event. Manuwa subsequently withdrew with a training injury approximately one week before the event. The UFC’s short-notice replacement booking of Santos (who had been building his LHW career) and Anders (who had fought a week earlier at UFC Fight Night 135’s week — actually FN135 was August 25; FN137 was September 22, so Anders had about a month, not a week — sources indicate he took it on short notice) produced the double-replacement headliner.
What was Little Nog’s significance at 42?
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was 42 years old for his São Paulo return, making his KO of Sam Alvey one of the oldest individual knockout performances in UFC LHW history. He had last appeared in the UFC at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro in August 2015. His São Paulo return — before a Brazilian crowd that had followed his career for nearly 20 years — produced an emotional crowd reaction. Alvey was a 30-year-old American with notable punch resistance; Nogueira’s second-round KO of him was a genuine competitive result.
Who was Charles Oliveira at this stage?
Oliveira was a 28-year-old Guardá, Brazil lightweight who had gone 23-8 professionally before São Paulo. His UFC career had been turbulent: 11-8 overall in UFC appearances across FW and LW, with multiple bonus wins and multiple losses. His São Paulo submission was the beginning of his career-defining submission-quality phase at LW. His subsequent record produced 12 consecutive UFC wins before the Chandler championship at UFC 262.
What was Marina Rodriguez’s debut draw?
Rodriguez was a 32-year-old Jundiaí, Brazil strawweight making her UFC debut against Randa Markos, a 30-year-old Canadian-Lebanese veteran with multiple UFC wins. The majority draw result — two judges scoring it 28-28 and one scoring it 28-29 for Markos — was Rodriguez’ first UFC result. Her subsequent UFC SBW career produced wins over every opponent until a title fight opportunity, reflecting the competitive quality she demonstrated even in her debut draw.
What was Trinaldo’s knee to body KO?
Francisco Trinaldo’s KO of Evan Dunham via knee to the body at 4:10 of round two was an unusual finish: body shot KOs — whether from punches or knees — are rare relative to head-strike stoppage. Trinaldo was a 40-year-old Manaus, Brazil lightweight known for his toughness and forward-pressure style. Dunham was a Portland, Oregon LW veteran with a significant UFC record. The knee-to-body KO was Trinaldo’s most unusual finishing technique in his UFC career.
What was Eryk Anders’ short-notice context?
Anders took the UFC Fight Night 137 main event on short notice after Manuwa withdrew. He had previously taken a fight on approximately one week’s notice at UFC Fight Night 125 — the Machida fight — and lost. His São Paulo acceptance demonstrated his willingness to take difficult assignments on short preparation. Despite losing the TKO stoppage, his Fight of the Night bonus — earned in a genuinely competitive three-round exchange against a home-crowd Brazilian opponent — reflected his competitive quality under difficult circumstances.
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