Santos (17-8) was particularly disappointed that no one from Chiasson’s team came forward to apologize for the weight miss. An apology she still feels is owed.

“No single person come to me and say sorry,” Santos told reporters including Cageside Press at her post-fight scrum.

“No one asked me if I want to fight or not. After fight I came to her and say that you should at least say sorry.”

“She told me ‘you got paid for this’. Why complain? I (don’t) fight for money. It’s nice to get paid, but I (don’t) fight for money,” she said.

“I feel like UFC not give enough punishment for fighter who missed weight. I think it’s the biggest reason why a lot of people miss weight.”

The post Yana Santos Calls for Harsher Penalties After Chiasson Weight Miss appeared first on Cageside Press.

Chiasson had missed weight for the fight, which left Santos fuming, especially after Chiasson declined an extra hour to shed the final pound and a half.

Santos held center early in the opening round of what had become a bit of a grudge match, with Chiasson on the outside. When they clinched, Chiasson pressed forward, with the two exchanging knees in close. Santos began to take control, pushing Chiasson to the fence. More knee exchanges followed before they finally broke and regrouped. Chaisson would get her leg kicks going as the round progressed into a fairly scrappy, back-and-forth affair.

An accidental clash of heads didn’t seem to slow things down any as round two got underway. Another clinch saw Santos and Chiasson fighting in close. This time when they went to the fence it was Chiasson in control, though she couldn’t keep the fight there. Yet even when they came off the cage they were still clinched up, exchanging knees. Pursuing a takedown later in the frame, Chiasson couldn’t quite keep Santos down, with Yana soon back to her feet.

Round three played out in similar fashion, if a little less spirited. They would again spend time clinching against the fence; going down in a heap with two minutes left, Chiasson nearly had control only for Santos to break free. Another trip down, however, and Chiasson was able to get to a three-quarter position, getting in control. Chiasson would get to mount, forcing Santos to roll and give up her back. Chiasson blasted away with a few big shots then looked to secure the rear-naked choke. She was across the chin, however, and Yana Santos refused to tap.

The scorecards saw Santos take the fight with triplicate 29-28s, giving Yana the last laugh after Chiasson had come in heavy.

Official Result: Yana Santos def. Macy Chiasson by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC 320: Yana Santos Gets Last Laugh Over Overweight Macy Chiasson appeared first on Cageside Press.

A determined, downright aggressive Tate came out firing in the fight, doubling up on her jab and landing repeated left hands on the taller, longer Santos. Yana would return fire, but through the opening minute, it was “Cupcake” Tate getting the better of things. The pace would, understandably, slow a bit as the round wore on, but Tate did keep the pressure up, and threaten to take the pack at one point. Tate worked the body in the clinch, fired kicks, and overall kept Santos guessing; Santos finally went after her won takedown, which Tate fought off. Santos found her rhythm in the back half of the round, doing damage to the legs and catching Tate coming in at times, making the round much closer than it looked from the outset.

Round two didn’t have the same red-hot start, and instead saw a number of exchanges, usually abbreviated, and grappling back-and-forths play out. Santos had the edge in volume as the fight wore on, and Tate was easily stuffed when shooting in on takedowns that were lower and lower percentage. Ultimately, it was a strong round for Yana Santos, who picked up where she left off at the end of the first.

A key takedown finally arrived for Miesha Tate about 90 seconds into round three. She planted Santos firmly on her back, with “Cupcake” sitting in half guard. Tate was able to land punches to the head as Santos rolled to her knees, thrashing wildly; that allowed Tate to take the back, locking on with a body triangle. Tate landed more shots to the head and tried to reposition, but just couldn’t get under the chin. Elbows to the side of the head came next from Tate, who still had the back, Santos on top of her. Tate couldn’t get the finish, but ended the round strong as they headed to the scorecards.

The judges saw it the same across the board after 15 minutes, with Yana Santos earning triplicate 29-28 scores.

Official Result: Yana Santos def. Miesha Tate by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC Des Moines: Yana Santos Fends Off Late Surge, Beats Miesha Tate appeared first on Cageside Press.

Cory Sandhagen (17-5) will look to bounce back from a title eliminator loss to Umar Nurmagomedov last August. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak with victories over Song Yadong, Chito Vera and Rob Font. Now he’ll attempt to get back to the top against a former UFC champion.

Deiveson Figueiredo (24-4-1) is the former UFC flyweight champion who recently made his move up to 135 pounds. He fired off three straight wins to start his run at bantamweight with victories over Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt and Vera. Petr Yan dealt him his first loss at 135 in the UFC, but a win over Sandhagen puts ‘Figgy’ back into contender status.

In the co-main event Bo Nickal (7-0) will look to continue his undefeated professional MMA run. The former Penn State wrestling stand out comes off a decision victory over Paul Craig at UFC 309 last November.

Across from him will be Reinier de Ridder who made his move to the UFC after 9 bouts with ONE Championship. His UFC debut came last November where he submitted Gerald Meerschaert. He followed that up with a rear-naked choke win over Kevin Holland at UFC 311.

UFC Des Moines takes place this Saturday night from the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. 

The post UFC Des Moines Face-Off Highlights appeared first on Cageside Press.

Tate (20-9) announced on Monday that she will face Yana Santos (15-8, 1NC) at a UFC event on May 3, 2025. Though not officially announced by the promotion, the Fight Night card is expected to take place in Des Moines, Iowa.

“I’ve still got what it takes and if you doubt me, please stick around,” Tate wrote on social media in conjunction with the announcement.

Miesha Tate has not been in action since a December 2023 victory over Julia Avila. Coincidentally, Avila just lost to Jacqueline Cavalcanti at UFC Vegas 102 over the weekend, with Cavalcanti calling for a fight with Tate. With “Cupcake” now booked against Santos, that will have to wait, but it shows that the former bantamweight champ remains relevant to a division that has almost completely turned over since her title win in 2016.

Tate is ranked #11 in the UFC women’s bantamweight division, and holds wins over Bellator champ and UFC title challenger Liz Carmouche, UFC title challengers Sara McMann and Jessica Eye, Strikeforce champ Marloes Coenen (to claim that promotion’s bantamweight crown), and Holly Holm, who Tate defeated at UFC 196 to win gold in the UFC.

Yana Santos, formerly Kunitskaya, is a former Invicta FC featherweight champ who once challenged Cris Cyborg for the now-defunct women’s 145lb title in the UFC. She returned to bantamweight in 2018, after fighting in the weight class earlier in her career, and has compiled a 7-4 record since. Santos, who is married to former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos, is ranked #10 in the women’s bantamweight division.

The UFC’s May 3, 2025 Fight Night card currently features the following reported match-ups:

• Marina Rodriguez vs. Gillian Robertson
• Trevor Peek vs. Lee Jeong-yeong
• Cameron Smotherman vs. Serhiy Sidey
• Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez
• Miesha Tate vs. Yana Santos

The post Miesha Tate Announces Fight Against Yana Santos at UFC Card on May 3 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Serghei Spivac

Moldova’s Spivac redeemed himself twofold in UFC Vegas 95’s main event against Marcin Tybura, making up for his recent TKO loss to Cyril Gane and for his first fight against Tybura back in 2020, which Serghei lost by decision. This time he made it look easy, taking the Pole down and tapping him with an armbar after less than two minutes. Despite his recent loss, Spivac is 4-1 in his last five, so he should be in position for a higher-ranked opponent.

There are not many other available, highly ranked heavyweights coming off wins. Gane and Alexander Volkov won their last fights but have been scheduled to rematch each other, as well, in two months. With the title picture stagnant due to Tom Aspinall being forced to defend his interim belt the division feels a bit empty at the top of the rankings, since the erstwhile #1 contender has been a champion, not just a contender, for over a year now while Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones endlessly circle each other. That leaves just Jailton Almeida for Spivac.

A strong grappler, Almeida has flawed wrestling but is freakishly athletic and has the best top game in the UFC heavyweight division. With a 7-1 UFC record and his only loss coming against Curtis Blaydes – in a fight he was winning – Jailton needs maybe just one or two more wins to earn a title shot, as does Spivac. This matchup would also be a grappler’s delight, with interesting scrambles sure to ensue.

Spivac’s Next Fight: Jailton Almeida

Chepe Mariscal

With his impressive and dominant win over Damon Jackson, Chepe Mariscal got his fourth straight win. Staying perfect in the UFC matters a lot, but missing weight by 4.5 pounds is egregious, so perhaps Chepe will not be given a ranked opponent just yet. Hovering just outside the rankings at featherweight are fighters like Sodiq Yusuff, Nate Wood, and Nate Landwehr.

Any of those would be excellent fights; Yusuff was ranked at featherweight for years until his last two losses, and never puts on a bad show. Wood and Landwehr are also talented; Landwehr in particular is one of the most action-oriented fighters in the sport today. His brawl-or-die style matches up perfectly with Chepe’s own, and would create an excellent fight where the winner could compete against a ranked foe next.

Mariscal’s Next Fight: Nate Landwehr

Danny Barlow

Memphis’ young, new striker Danny Barlow also missed weight for his UFC Vegas 95 fight, but unlike Mariscal it was by less than a pound. Barlow earned a split decision win for his efforts against short-notice debutant Nikolay Veretennikov. He remains undefeated and moves to 2-0 in the UFC, but this prospect clearly wanted to win more dominantly. As a 29-year-old welterweight his time is now to make a run.

A good step up to test if Barlow is capable of bigger things would be Phil Rowe. ‘The Fresh Prince’ lost his last two fights after a three-bout winning streak put him on the verge of being ranked, so while it is a big step up for Barlow, its also a fight he is capable of winning and will be a new style for him to face. He may only be 9-0, but when a fighter has that zero in their record they are going to ascend quicker than others may.

Barlow’s Next Fight: Phil Rowe

Chris Gutierrez

‘El Guapo’ made it look easy, though not necessarily attractive to look at, when he beat the debuting Quang Le on Saturday. Using his infamous leg kicks, Gutierrez chewed up the former LFA fighter from the outside en route to a comfortable, if tepid, decision. With his last two losses coming to ranked fighters, and due to holding no wins against ranked bantamweights, Chris will have to do more to get back his top-15 spot.

He was originally scheduled to face Javid Basharat in the UFC Apex, so that fight can be rebooked with no hesitation. It would be an excellent addition to the pay-per-view in Abu Dhabi later this year, with Basharat being from the region and fans loving to see talented bantamweights in action.

Gutierrez’s Next Fight: Javid Basharat

Yana Santos

Twelfth-ranked UFC women’s bantamweight Yana Santos, née Kunitskaya, won her first fight since returning from giving birth to a child with her husband, former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos, in April of 2022. Santos largely outclassed fourteenth-ranked opponent Chelsea Chandler, another fighter from UFC Vegas 95 who missed weight badly, even scoring a her first-ever UFC knockdown in the second round.

After three straight losses to ranked opponents, Santos had to win this to hold onto her ranking, and she did just that. Another fighter who is not in the best form of her career is Julia Avila. Thirteenth-ranked Avila won her first three UFC fights, including beating now-ranked fighter Pannie Kianzad, but has now lost two of her last three and clearly needs work on her wrestling. Yana Santos would be more than happy to oblige her by testing that particular skillset of Julia’s.

Santos’s Next Fight: Julia Avila

Toshiomi Kazama

Japan’s Toshiomi Kazama lost his first two UFC fights by knockout but impressed in his rebound against Charalampos Grigoriou on Saturday. Despite getting dropped after a strong first round, Kazama survived and choked out his opponent from his back with a triangle choke, a somewhat rare submission to see in the UFC nowadays.

However, Kazama is not totally in the clear, even after that; a 1-2 record in the stacked bantamweight division is not ideal. Toshiomi will need to win his next fight to make sure his job is safe. One fight which would be interesting is Kazama vs Ricky Turcios. Turcios is not a knockout artist, but he is chaotic and a good scrambler that would give Kazama a new style to deal with. Also, Ricky will not gas out quickly like Grigoriou.

Kazama’s Next Fight: Ricky Turcios

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 95 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Bantamweight” might have been a misnomer for Chandler, who while talented, had missed weight in two consecutive fights, including by 5lbs for her fight with Santos. Her remaining UFC contests had come at featherweight, and a 140lb catchweight.

Chandler had also missed the mark for the bantamweight division in her second pro fight, under the Invicta FC banner.

Santos used her right hand to set up some solid kicks early in round one, and was able to fight off Chandler when the latter took the fight to the fence. A former Invicta champ who had competed at a featherweight as well, Santos seemed well equipped to deal with the weight of Chandler. Later in the frame, a head kick snuck upstairs for Santos. She went after Chandler, who held her own. Chandler would find some success late in the round, while Santos fired a spinning back kick that just missed the body.

Round two opened with some scrappiness, with Santos landing a knockdown less than 30 seconds in! Chandler fell to her back, and stayed there, hoping Santos would get on top. She declined, chopping at Chandler’s legs until the ref stood her up. Fighting with some fire under her, Santos flashed a front kick that missed, then ripped one to the leg a moment or two later. Chandler finally closed the distance, taking Santos to the fence, only for Santos to easily break free, with no takedown attempt in sight.

Another clinch along the fence led to knees being traded, but little else. But likely down in the round and in the fight, Chandler needed to use those clinches to get the fight to the ground – and seemed unable to. Santos got a front push kick high enough to graze the face. The kick would come again with about 20 seconds left. Santos would fire an elbow, and went on the attack again just before the horn.

With Chandler almost certainly down two rounds to none, a finish was almost certainly required. She would use a left hand to bully her way into the clinch early in round three. She had underhooks, with her hands clasped, and tried to pull off a trip, to no avail. A moment later, Santos freed herself and circled out. Chandler was having a better round in the early going, putting Santos back on the fence a second time just under two minutes in.

Again, Chelsea Chandler couldn’t get the fight done. Santos even managed to reverse and get some control time of her own. They’d come off, then go back to the fence, come off again, and return. This time, Chandler landed a couple of lefts, one big one. Time was falling off the clock however, and Chandler’s inability to make those clinches pay off would cost her the fight.

Yana Santos returns to the win column with the victory, snapping a three-fight skid.

Official Result: Yana Santos def. Chelsea Chandler by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC Vegas 95: Yana Santos Back in Win Column with Decision Against Overweight Chelsea Chandler appeared first on Cageside Press.

News of the booking was first announced by Eurosport’s Marcel Dorff (@bigmarcel24) on his various social media platforms, on Friday. Santos also confirmed the match-up.

Yana Santos (14-8), the #12 ranked fighter in the UFC women’s bantamweight division, is desperately in need of a win. Santos is on a three-fight losing skid and has not won since defeating Ketlen Vieira in February 2022. Her most recent fight was a split decision loss at the hands of Karol Rosa, last July. Although that was in a rare women’s featherweight fight.

Chelsea Chandler (6-2) is the #14 ranked UFC women’s bantamweight fighter and 4-1 with the promotion. Chandler’s most recent fight was a unanimous decision victory against Josiane Nunes back in March. Unfortunately, Chandler missed weight for the bout. An Invicta FC product, Chelsea’s only loss in the UFC was against Norma Dumont in July of last year.

UFC Vegas 95 still doesn’t have a main event or co-main event announced at this time. With the addition of the Santos vs. Chandler here is the seven-fight card at the writing of this article:

• Jarno Errens vs. Youssef Zalal
• Marcin Tybura vs. Serghei Spivac
• Yana Santos vs. Chelsea Chandler
• Karl Williams vs. Jhonata Diniz
• Allan Nascimento vs. Jafel Filho
• Danny Barlow vs. Uros Medic
• Jonny Parsons vs. Yusaku Kinoshita

The post Top 15 Bantamweights Yana Santos and Chelsea Chandler to Fight at UFC Vegas 95 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The bout will see Norma Dumont (10-2), arguably the most successful featherweight in the company left past Amanda Nunes’ retirement this past June, take on Yana Santos (14-8, 1NC). Santos competed for the UFC women’s featherweight title in 2018, and returned to the division for her most recent bout.

News of the booking was first reported by MMA Fighting on Wednesday. Dumont subsequently confirmed the match-up on social media.

Dumont is currently ranked #11 in the women’s bantamweight division, and Santos #8, despite both having most recently competed at featherweight.

Brazil’s Dumont, in fact, has never successfully made the bantamweight limit while fighting in the UFC. A November 2020 fight with Ashlee Evans-Smith scheduled for the weight class saw her weigh in at 139.5lbs, a full three and a half pounds over the non-title bantamweight limit.

As a featherweight, Dumont has won her past three fights, all via unanimous decision, against Danyelle Wolf, Karol Rosa, and Chelsea Chandler.

Santos is on the opposite trajectory currently, having lost her last three bouts, including a loss to Rosa most recently. In 2018, she made an unsuccessful challenge against Cris Cyborg, then UFC women’s featherweight champion, after which she immediately dropped back down to bantamweight.

Santos is a former Invicta FC bantamweight champion.

The only other match-up reported for the UFC’s Jan. 13, 2024 event, which does not have a venue, location, or broadcast plan announced, is a heavyweight affair that sees Andrei Arlovski take on Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

The post UFC: Norma Dumont vs. Yana Santos Booked for Jan. 13 Bantamweight Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Both fighters had competed at bantamweight previously, making this match-up essentially a bantamweight fight minus the weight cut.

An early clinch didn’t lead to much, and the pair broke, re-engaged, and clinched again. Santos was in the driver’s seat, putting Rosa’s back to the cage and working in knees. Try as she might, Santos could not get the fight down, however, and Rosa reversed, only for Santos to reverse again and move off the fence.

With 90 seconds left in the opening round, Santos ripped a kick to the body, which was followed a moment later by a teep kick to the midsection. Santos then clinched, pushed Rosa to the fence, fired a couple knees, then backed off.

Round two saw more clinch work initiated by Yana Santos. The first two minutes saw her sneak in some knees and elbows; off the break, Rosa would have a chance to walk the former Invicta FC champ down, and fought off another clinch attempt. Santos circled to one side, then the other, not all that interested in fighting out in the open. Rosa did find a home for her right hand, and sat down on a couple of somewhat heavy swings. Santos, however, had the edge in volume in addition to winning the clinch battles.

Towards the end of the round, the pair traded kicks. Rosa then punched her way into a clinch, but was out-muscled by Santos, who reversed and put her opponent against the fence to wrap up the frame.

In the third, Rosa managed to avoid an early clinch, then walk forward, looking to land a right hand on the taller, rangier Santos. For her part, Santos was still the more mobile, fresher-looking fighter. A brief clinch didn’t lead to either woman getting the upper hand. Santos flashed a front kick that was just shy of the mark, and didn’t have much on it. Yana then moved in, clinched, fired a knee, and backed off. A kick to the body landed for Santos, but a counter-right hand connected for Karol Rosa.

Rosa’s counters became more of the factor as the round wore on. Despite her physical advantages, it was Santos closing the distance, and getting clipped, if ever so slightly. The more the pair stayed off the fence, the more things favored Rosa. Towards the final minute, Rosa fired a combo punctuated with a kick, but she then found herself clinching Santos, exactly where she didn’t want to be. Yet in the following sequence, Rosa landed a takedown, finishing the round on top in what might have been the biggest moment in the fight for the Brazilian.

That may have, in fact, won her both the round and the fight. Two of three judges gave Karol Rosa 29-28 scores in what turned out to be a split decision victory for her. Santos, who had come into the fight on a two-fight skid that included a loss to former champ Holly Holm, now falls to 0-3 on her current run.

Official Result: Karol Rosa def. Yana Santos by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC Vegas 76: Karol Rosa Takes Split Decision Over Yana Santos in Rare Women’s Featherweight Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.