Taila Santos is coming off an impressive showing against Valentina Shevchenko.
This past weekend, Taila Santos cruised her way to a controversial loss to Shevchenko at UFC 275. Santos appeared to be getting the better of the 125-lbs queen, especially in the first three rounds. She went on to drop the bout on judges’ scorecards by split decision.
It was the first time Shevchenko ever looked challenged and many wondered what the outcome would’ve been without a key moment in the fight.
Taila Santos was “seeing double” after clashing heads with Valentina Shevchenko
In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Taila Santos talked about the clash of heads with Shevchenko. She revealed that she could not properly see out of her right eye and adjusted her game plan accordingly.
“Yeah, for sure, once the eye close I really couldn’t see anything. I started seeing a lot, doubles and then I started having an inner dialogue like, ‘okay, what can I do here? So if I close my eyes I’m going to be able to see a little bit better, I’m not going to have the distance but I can see a little bit better but then she’s going to know that something’s bad, something’s really wrong'”
“When the eye closed, I could see a little bit better because at least I wasn’t seeing doubles, as much as I lost that depth perception.”
Santos received messages of support from Amanda Nunes & Charles Oliveira
Following a very competitive performance against a dominant champion, Santos received messages of support from fellow Brazilians, Amanda Nunes, and Charles Oliveira. Santos may have lost the title fight but moved up in rankings based on how good she looked in the fight.
“After the fight, I think I grew a lot in the MMA scene and a lot more people probably know me now than before the fight. A lot more people are actually thinking about it, what I’m doing and who I am.
“Even amongst the fighters, just getting messages from Amanda Nunes and Charles ‘do Bronx’ (Oliveira) after the fight is just, it’s huge for me.”
Shevchenko called out for a fight against Miesha Tate and had indicated a desire to move up to 135 lbs after defending her title. Santos is not looking for an immediate rematch as well as she waits for her eye to heal first.
