Goltsov vs Santos

Who won Goltsov vs Santos?

Denis Goltsov beat Thiago Santos by knockout in the 1st round during the main card of PFL 4, on Thursday 13th June 2024 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 265 pounds (18.9 stone or 120.2 KG).

Goltsov vs Santos stats

Denis Goltsov stepped into the octagon with a record of 32 wins, 8 losses and 0 draws, 15 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 11 by submission.

Thiago Santos made his way to the cage with a record of 22 wins, 12 losses and 0 draws, 15 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Denis Goltsov's 16th fight in the PFL, having made his debut for the promotion in 2019. Thiago Santos marked his 3rd fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2023.

Denis Goltsov's PFL record stood at 13-3-0, while Thiago Santos' came in at 0-2-0.

The stats suggested Santos had a large advantage in power over Goltsov, boasting a 68% knock out percentage over Goltsov's 47%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Goltsov had a large advantage over Santos, boasting a 34% submission rate over Santos' 5%.

Denis Goltsov was the younger man by 6 years, at 34 years old.

Goltsov had a height advantage of 3 inches over Santos. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Goltsov's experience as a professional fighter was relatively equal to Santos', having had 6 more fights, and made his debut in 2010, 3 months earlier than Santos, whose first professional fight was in 2010. He had fought 3 less professional rounds, 79 to Santos' 82.

Goltsov vs Santos form

Goltsov had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Ante Delija at PFL 2021 #8 on 19th August 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Brandon Sayles at PFL 2021 #6 on 25th June 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at Ocean Casino Resort, Atlantic City.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Mo DeReese at PFL 2021 #3 on 6th May 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Ocean Casino Resort, Atlantic City.

Before that, he had been beaten by Ali Isaev at PFL 2019 #9 on 31st October 2019 by knockout in the 3rd round at Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Satoshi Ishii at PFL 2019 #9 on 31st October 2019 by majority decision in their 2 round contest at Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas.

Thiago Santos had beaten 1 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had been defeated by Yoel Romero at PFL vs. Bellator: CHAMPS on 24th February 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had lost to Rob Wilkinson at PFL 1 on 1st April 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Theater - Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas, United States.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Jamahal Hill at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill on 6th August 2022 by knockout in the 4th round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had been defeated by Magomed Ankalaev at UFC Fight Night on 12th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He was victorious against Johnny Walker at UFC Vegas 38 on 2nd October 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Thiago Santos had been fighting more than Denis Goltsov.

Going to this contest, Denis Goltsov had last fought 3 years and 19 days ago, while Thiago Santos' last outing had been 6 months and 14 days ago.

Goltsov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 10 months and 7 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 20 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

Santos' last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 2 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 20 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4 rounds on average.

What time did Goltsov vs Santos start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 1:40 AM UTC , which was 9:40 PM EST or 6:40 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 2:40 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Goltsov vs Santos?

Denis Goltsov was a 2/11 (-560) favourite going into the contest, while Thiago Santos made his way into the ring at 4/1 (+400) with oddsmakers.