Taila Santos doesn’t have a problem acknowledging that Erin Blanchfield is one of the best young fighters in the UFC. What the former women’s flyweight title challenger takes issue with, however, is the amount of hype surrounding her.
“Erin is an upcoming fighter, but I believe they put the cart in front of the horse,” Santos said at UFC Fight Night 225 media day.
Santos, 30, meets 24-year-old Blanchfield on the main card of UFC Fight Night 225 on Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in what is a pivotal showdown between the fighters ranked Nos. 4 and 3, respectively.
Santos has reached the top as she’s coming off a narrow split decision loss to then-champion Valentina Shevchenko in June 2022, a result many observers believed should’ve gone the other way. It seems Santos is taking umbrage with Blanchfield ranked ahead of her despite this being her first bout against an elite member of the division.
There’s also the fact that Blanchfield declared herself the better grappler between the two, which got Santos’ attention.
“Better than me?” she asked the reporter who mentioned Blanchfield’s declaration to her.
Santos continued, “She has not fought well known, even the top-five of the division. Yes, she’s good on the ground. My background is in muay Thai. I feel very comfortable in exchanges, but I’m also very good on the ground. I’m confident in myself too.”
Santos knows the opportunity in front of her to derail a hype train, and she’s motivated by it.
“I’m very excited about this, because a lot of people talk that she’s an upcoming promise,” Santos said. “But if she’s a promise, I’m a reality, so I’m very excited about this.”
With a win, Santos believes she has a claim to a title shot against the winner of the rematch between champ Alexa Grasso and Shevchenko on Sept. 16. Santos said she prefers to run it back with Shevchenko, whom she made clear she believes is a bigger challenge than Grasso.
“Grasso is a dedicated fighter. She’s also very good technically, but I don’t see her as dangerous,” Santos said. “I see that she’s technically a good fighter, but I don’t think that she’s dangerous.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 225.