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In recent years, fans have grown accustomed to the ebb and flow of the UFCroster. The UFC contracts a sizable class of new fighters from Dana White’s Contender Series each autumn. And in the weeks leading up to each season, may God help anyone who is riding a losing streak or nearing the conclusion of their contract.
The releases of Jinh Yu Frey, Mike Blood Diamond Mathetha, Ashley Yoder, and Shane Young in recent weeks have come as no surprise. However, there have also been a few surprises. After losing to Vivi Araujo recently, Jennifer Maia made the decision to leave the UFC, and Mike Breeden was let go despite defeating Anshul Jubli at UFC 294 despite missing weight and concealing a staph infection. John Makdessi, a longtime action veteran, also lost his contract with the UFC after a contentious defeat to Jamie Mullarkey. But none of them are nearly as shocking as the most recent roster announcement from the UFC.
Top contender Taila Santos out of the UFC
MMA Fighting has confirmed that Taila Santos‘ disappearance from the UFC website was not the result of a clerical error, suspension, or competitive hiatus, as was first reported by MMAroster following accounts on X/Twitter. Rather, it seems that the Brazilian who was once a championship challenger has had her contract with the UFC terminated. At this point, it’s unknown if Santos asked to be released from her UFC contract or if the UFC made the final decision.
Despite losing her Octagon debut, the 30-year-old member of the Endeavor-owned Astra Fight Team quickly became a contender in the company. After defeating Estefani Almeida on Dana White’s Contender Series Brazil, Santos made his UFC debut in 2018. After losing a close split decision against Mara Romero Borella, she went on to win four straight, defeating Joanne Wood, Roxanne Modafferi, and Molly McCann.
That was sufficient to secure Santos a June 2018 title matchup with Valentina Shevchenko. Many believed Santos could have won the bout against the long-reigning champion, but she lost by a very thin spit decision. Soon after, Santos suffered a tough decision loss to Erin Blanchfield, but he was still well-positioned in the top five in the flyweight class.Regarding the decision to split, neither the UFC nor Santos nor her camp have released any statements as of yet.
Taila Santos visa issues
It’s important to note that the Brazilian has struggled to get to fight night throughout her tenure in the biggest mixed martial arts company in the world, even though we don’t know if that played a role in the UFC releasing Santos. This contains a few unresolved visa concerns. not only for Santos but also for her team that corners her.
Just one week before the fight, Santos pulled out of her scheduled fight against Erin Blanchfield in February due to the denial of visa access to the US for her husband Pedro Barbosa and another cornerback. Santos experienced similar problems getting a visa for an upcoming 2021 fight with Mandy Bohm. Santos has participated in multiple UFC events in Las Vegas, but her past two bouts were both in Singapore.
Taila Santos legal issues
Not to mention, in August of last year, Santos made news for a reason that was more tenuous personally. After his fighter’s fights against Roxanne Modafferi, Joanne Wood, and Valentina Shevchenko, his longtime head coach and management Marcelo Brigadeiro declared he was going to sue her for breach of contract. Marcio Malko accompanied Brigadeiro in his lawsuit. According to reports, Malko had already started court proceedings at the time, requesting 20% of Santos’s earnings from UFC 275.
Similar to this, Patricio Barbosa Farias, the brother of Pedro Barbosa Farias, the Santos coach, and his spouse, filed a police report against Santos, alleging that he was entitled to $2,935 for his work as a member of Malko’s training staff for Santos fights.
In an intriguing turn of events, Santos filed a $4,820 lawsuit against Brigadeiro, a former member of the management group that Daniel Kinehan formed, in 2021.According to an MMA Fighting story, Santos asserted in her lawsuit that Brigadeiro never gave her access to read or copy her contract, which she claimed included several abusive and unlawful elements.
It is unclear where all of this leaves Santos at this point. However, given the recent announcement that the PFL would be launching a women’s flyweight category, it’s difficult to ignore the possibility that Jennifer Maia and Taila Santos may soon be returning to ESPN+ to battle for the UFC rival.
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About the author
Zane Simon works for Bloody Elbow as a writer, podcaster, and senior editor. Since 2013, he has been employed by the website, serving in a number of capacities. Zane, who has always been passionate about combat sports, has dabbled in boxing and muay thai training. He presently conducts two podcasts: the 2014-launched 6th Round podcast and the long-running MMA Vivisection program, which he took over from Nate Wilcox & Dallas Winston in 2015. In addition, Zane is in charge of creating and updating Bloody Elbow’s list of active UFC fighters, a resource he started in 2010 on Wikipedia.
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