Brazilian MMA star Taila Santos reckons that she did enough to win the UFC flyweight title in 2022, and is now no longer leaving her decisions in the hands of the judges.

The 30-year-old faced Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 275 in Singapore after a four-fight winning run. But despite many viewers and one judge feeling that she did enough to win the fight, a split decision went against her, and she left the promotion following her next bout with Erin Blanchfield.

Santos believes that she won that night against Shevchenko, who at the time seemed unbeatable at flyweight amid an eight fight win streak. But she struggled with her immense pressure, which saw the Brazillian control most of the action and scraped through with a win, before losing her next defence.

Taila Santos still insists she defeated Valentina Shevchenko for UFC title

Even two years on, Taila Santos maintains that she did enough that night in Singapore to dethrone Shevchenko. And she believes that regardless, she should have been given an immediate rematch after such a showing.

“Especially the way that we walked out of that fight, there were executives telling me that I won the fight,” she told Bloody Elbow via a translator in an exclusive chat. “Then I was hopeful that a rematch was on the way but it never materialised.

“I think that what I did with Valentina was just showing that she is not an unbeatable beast. She’s just a flesh and blood fighter like all of us and honestly, that was something that really bothered me because I believe I did more than enough to at least deserve a rematch.

“Regardless of what the result was I deserved a rematch and it just made things a little bit more sour with the promotion.” The rematch never materialised and Shevchenko lost her belt in a stunning upset to Alexa Grasso.

Taila Santos explains why she left UFC for PFL

Both Santos And Shevchenko went on to lose their next outings, with the Brazillian dropping another decision to Erin Blanchfield after almost a year out due to visa issues. But she was still considered one of the best in the world at the time, and her signature was hotly contested for in the free agency market.

“I was very happy for the time I spent with them,” she said. “But after I was done with the Valentina fight, there were a few things I was expecting that didn’t come through. The biggest thing is that I am happy about joining the PFL.

“I am a fighter and I need to fight. I’m not happy to sit on the bench and see the division move along while you’re looking at the stars. I was just hoping I was going to fight eventually and that really didn’t help. Eventually it got to a point where I decided to move along because that was best.”

Taila Santos no longer leaving it to the judges any more in PFL flyweight tournament

In her first fight under the PFL banner, Santos left absolutely no doubt as she picked up all six points in their global season format with a first round submission of Ilara Joanne. This Thursday at Mohegan Sun, she faces the unbeaten Jena Bishop who is also on maximum points.

Bishop landed an armbar in the first on Chelsea Hackett, and both women are keen to put a definitive finish to the regular season as they lock in playoff spots. “My goal in PFL is that I’m here to finish everybody in the first round,” she insisted.

“I don’t know what Jena has in mind, she might be thinking about coasting and trying to get by with three points but I’m here to get finishes. That’s what Ray Sefo brought me in for and I’m just here to stir s*** and be a problem for every girl in the division.”