LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Yana Santos[/autotag] felt like he was fighting for his job at UFC on ESPN 61.
The women’s bantamweight veteran entered Saturday’s fight against Chelsea Chandler on a three-fight losing streak, with her last win coming in 2021. Santos (15-8 MMA, 5-5 UFC) believes a fourth straight loss could have cost him his job with the UFC.
“It was probably a saving grace for my career because I suffered three losses and you never know what the UFC is going to do,” said Santos. “It doesn’t matter if my opponent misses weight, it doesn’t matter if I came after giving birth, it’s my problem, I accepted the fight.
“If I decide to go to Russia after giving birth and fight, that’s my problem, and they have every right to cut me if I have four losses. I think it saved my career.”
Santos defeated Chandler (6-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) via unanimous decision. The victory was not only satisfying because it ended his losing streak, but also because Chandler lost weight – something Santos didn’t take well to.
Santos expected Chandler to use his apparent weight advantage in the fight and was surprised that it did not influence the fight.
“I thought her technique was very low when it came to wrestling,” Santos said. “What I was expecting was for her to be stronger and try harder to take me down because that’s probably where she could use her weight, but it was pretty easy to defend the takedowns. It was a surprise to me because (the weight advantage) is important in wrestling and I thought I would use it.”
More UFC!
Jhonata Diniz, winner of UFC on ESPN 61, calls him the ‘most dangerous guy’ in the division at UFC 309
Danny Barlow, from UFC on ESPN 61, reacts to the opponent’s score of 30-27 in the split decision
Toshiomi Kazama was ‘walking in a dark cave’ before UFC on ESPN 61 comeback win that saved his career
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC on ESPN 61.
This article was originally published on MMA Junkie: Yana Santos: UFC on ESPN 61 victory over Chelsea Chandler was a ‘career saver’
