Former UFC flyweight title contender Taila Santos has been released from the UFC, despite still having a couple of fights left on her current contract.
The 30-year-old Santos joined the UFC from the Contender Series and though she lost in her debut back in 2019 she’d then go on to win four fights in a row against the likes of Molly McCann, Gillian Robertson, Roxanne Modafferi and Joanne Wood.
That set Santos up for a flyweight title shot against Valentina Shevchenko in June of last year and she performed better than expected against the at-the-time dominant champ, only losing out by split-decision.
Santos was then beaten by another leading contender Erin Blanchfield in August, but there was no indication at that stage that the Brazilian’s place on the roster might be in jeopardy.
It is worth noting that the fight with Blanchfield had originally been first set to take place in February, but Santos pulled out after both her cornermen, including her husband, were denied visa’s.
Santos bows out of the UFC after a 4-3 run, leaving her overall career now standing at 19-3.