Wilkinson vs Santos

Who won Wilkinson vs Santos?

Rob Wilkinson beat Thiago Santos by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the co-main event of PFL 1, on Saturday 1st April 2023 at The Theater - Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Rob Wilkinson.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

Wilkinson vs Santos stats

Rob Wilkinson stepped into the octagon with a record of 17 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 7 by submission.

Thiago Santos made his way to the cage with a record of 22 wins, 11 losses and 0 draws, 15 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Rob Wilkinson's 9th fight in the PFL, having made his debut for the promotion in 2022. Thiago Santos marked his 3rd fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2023.

Rob Wilkinson's PFL record stood at 6-2-0, while Thiago Santos' came in at 0-2-0.

The stats suggested Santos had an advantage in power over Wilkinson, with a 68% knock out percentage over Wilkinson's 53%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Wilkinson had a massive advantage over Santos, boasting a 41% submission rate over Santos' 5%.

Rob Wilkinson was the younger man by 8 years, at 33 years old.

Wilkinson had a height advantage of 1 inch over Santos. That also extended to a 4-inch reach advantage.

Wilkinson was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 14 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2011, 10 months later than Santos, whose first professional fight was in 2010. He had fought 43 less professional rounds, 39 to Santos' 82.

Wilkinson vs Santos form

Wilkinson had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Phil Davis at PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 4 on 1st May 2025 by knockout in the 2nd round at Universal Studios Florida, Orlando, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov at PFL 8: 2024 Playoffs on 16th August 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Hard Rock Live, Hollywood.

Going into that contest, he had won against Joshua Silveira at PFL 5: 2024 Regular Season on 21st June 2024 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City.

Before that, he had beaten Tom Breese at PFL 2: 2024 Regular Season on 12th April 2024 by knockout in the 1st round at The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Thiago Santos at PFL 1 on 1st April 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Theater - Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas.

Thiago Santos had beaten 1 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been defeated 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, United States.

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

Going into that contest, 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.

Before that, he had been beaten by Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259 on 6th March 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had been defeated by Glover Teixeira at UFC Vegas 13 on 7th November 2020 by submission in the 3rd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Rob Wilkinson had last fought 6 days ago, while Thiago Santos' last outing had been 2 years, 9 months and 1 day ago.

Wilkinson's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 1 month and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 2 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 4 years and 6 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 24 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 20 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Wilkinson vs Santos?

Rob Wilkinson was a 13/25 (-220) favourite going into the contest, while Thiago Santos made his way into the ring at 7/5 (+210) with oddsmakers.