Hermansson-Santos Added to UFC Fight Night 119 After Michal Materla Resigns With KSW

Gdansk's loss is Sao Paulo's gain.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship strengthened its UFC Fight Night 119 lineup on Monday, adding a 185-pound clash between Thiago “Marreta” Santos and Sweden's Jack Hermansson to the card. UFC Fight Night 119 is scheduled for Oct. 28 at the Geraldo Jose de Almeida Gymnasium – also known as Ibirapuera Gymnasium -- in Sao Paulo, headlined by a middleweight bout between Lyoto Machida and Derek Brunson. The event's main card is scheduled to air on Fox Sports 1.

Last week, several reports linked Santos to a bout with Polish standout Michal Materla, one of the biggest draws for Poland's Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki. A Materla-Santos bout was thought to headline UFC Fight Night 118, slated for Oct. 21 at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland. However, given that Materla still had one fight remaining on his KSW contract, as well as the fact he is out on bail stemming from an arrest last December linking him to organized crime, it seemed like a questionable announcement for a UFC fight headliner.

In a statement released Monday, the former KSW middleweight champion's manager Norbert Sawicki stated that his client, who can presently not leave Poland while out on bail, had renegotiated his deal with KSW for more money and would be staying with the promotion for the time being.

After going 1-2 in 2016 with back-to-back first-round losses to Gegard Mousasi and Eric Spicely, Santos has bounced back in style this year. The 33-year-old “Marreta” levelled Welshman Jack Marshman with a spinning wheel kick in a “Knockout of the Year” contender this past February, then followed up by punching out Gerald Meerschaert at UFC 213 in July.

Hermansson, 29, has put together a 3-1 mark inside the Octagon. “The Joker” took a unanimous verdict over England's Scott Askham in his UFC debut 12 months ago, but succumbed to Cezar Ferreira via submission last November. Like Santos, Hermansson has gone 2-0 in 2017 so far, knocking out Alex Nicholson in May, then Bradley Scott on Aug. 5 in Mexico City.