With Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen moved to UFC San Antonio, this month’s UFC Vegas 69 has a new main event.
On Friday, UFC officials announced that the women’s flyweight match-up between Taila Santos (19-2) and Erin Blanchfield (10-1) had been promoted to headline the show. The card takes place February 18, 2023 at the Apex in Las Vegas.
Flyweights takes the top spot on the marquee!💥
Taila Santos vs @Blanchfield_MMA happens Saturday, Feb 18! #UFCVegas69 pic.twitter.com/TcmhPSrV7i
— UFC (@ufc) February 3, 2023
The fight matches up the #2 and #10 ranked women’s flyweights in the company, while also representing the first main event assignment for both fighters.
Santos will be fighting for the first time since her loss to Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight title, in a very competitive outing at UFC 275 last June. Despite losing a split decision, she turned heads with a performance that gave Shevchenko her toughest test in years — leading many to call for a rematch.
That rematch isn’t happening, with Shevchenko instead facing Alexa Grasso next. But another high-profile win could leave her next in line.
Blanchfield is undefeated since arriving in the UFC, winning her first four fights in the promotion. Most recently, she submitted Molly McCann at UFC 281.
UFC Vegas 69 currently has the following fights reported for it:
- Taila Santos vs. Erin Blanchfield
- Lina Länsberg vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
- Ovince Saint Preux vs. Philipe Lins
- Nazim Sadykhov vs. Evan Elder
- A.J. Fletcher vs. Themba Gorimbo
- Juancamilo Ronderos vs. Clayton Carpenter
- Jim Miller vs. Gabriel Benítez
- William Knight vs. Marcin Prachnio
- Josh Parisian vs. Jamal Pogues
- Jordan Wright vs. Zac Pauga
