LAS VEGAS – Thiago Santos expects to deliver a performance that’s a better reflection of himself against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259.

On the heels of his split-decision loss to Jon Jones in July 2019, Santos (21-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) took 16 months away from the octagon to recover from a double knee surgery. He finally returned in November for a clash with Glover Teixeira, but he was finished by submission.

Now that he’s even further removed from his surgeries, Santos said he feels back in top form. He called the loss to Teixeira his “warm up,” and expects to show his full potential against Rakic (13-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on Saturday.

“When I look at my last fight, I was ready, but I felt after a long time stopped (from fighting), my timing was off because it was a long time,” Santos told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at UFC 259 media day on Wednesday. “Now I feel so good. I feel 100 percent, and my last fight was warmup. Now I feel so good for comeback. I will do so much better than my last fight.”

UFC 259 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

Santos said he’s aware he’s not getting an easy rebound opponent in Rakic, who is coming off a win over former title challenger Anthony Smith. “Marreta” thinks his upcoming foe presents a lot of challenges, but he’s prepared to topple Rakic in every area.

“He’s dangerous,” Santos said. “He’s a tough guy. Like everyone in this division, everyone is danger. I need to pay attention to everything, and that’s what I did. I did so good in camp. I’m ready for everything he can bring to me: striking, grappling, wrestling. I feel ready for everything.”

Despite his losing skid, Santos is still highly ranked at 205 pounds and still in the title-shot mix. UFC 259 is the perfect moment to put his best foot forward, he said, because the card is headlined by a championship fight in the weight class between Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya.

Santos said he’s not trying to get ahead of himself when it comes to fighting for the belt again, because he knows the entirety of his future depends on what happens inside the octagon this weekend.

“It’s a good situation, but it all depends on my performance,” Santos said. “I need a good performance on Saturday (to get a title shot).”