UFC cuts former title challenger Taila Santos

UFC cuts former title challenger Taila Santos

The UFC has cut former women’s flyweight title challenger Taila Santos. The news was first reported by UFC Roster Tracker and confirmed by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.

❌ Fighter removed: Taila Santos

— UFC Roster Tracker (@RosterTracker) November 7, 2023

At the time of her release, Santos was ranked No. 4 in the women’s flyweight division.

The UFC has not provided a reason for cutting Santos. If more details are released, it will likely come at Dana White’s UFC 295 post-fight press conference.

Santos had a lot of success in the UFC. At UFC 275, her UFC tenure peaked as she lost to Valentina Shevchenko. It seems strange to call her peak a loss, but the scoring of that bout was highly controversial and many people thought she won. In the aftermath of the bout, Santos claimed Shevchenko was scared of the rematch.

In her last bout, Santos lost a decision to Erin Blanchfield at UFC Singapore. That loss came off the back of the Shevchenko bout and marked her second consecutive loss.

At 4-3, her UFC record does not jump off the page, but she has proven to be one of the best fighters in the division.

Santos’ release comes as a surprise. The former title challenger is just 30-years-old and likely has several years of high-quality fighting left in the tank. Furthermore, it is practically unheard of for a fighter to get cut after losing two close fights to the best fighters in the division.

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Santos was worthy of holding a spot on the UFC roster. That shock of the news makes it likely there are some unreleased details surrounding the situation.

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