Taila Santos: A Woman on the Cusp

Taila Santos traveled a difficult road to reach this pivotal stage of her career but finds herself in position to turn her perseverance into a life-altering payday.

The former Aspera Fighting Championship titleholder will face the unbeaten Dakota Ditcheva with $1 million on the line when their Professional Fighters League women’s flyweight final serves as the co-headliner for the PFL 2024 Season Championships on Nov. 29 at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Santos advanced the 125-pound championship with wins over Ilara Joanne, Jena Bishop and Liz Carmouche. As the current Bellator MMA champion, Carmouche provided the Brazilian with her stiffest test.

“It was a very intense fight,” Santos told Sherdog.com. “She is very experienced, very strong. My biggest challenge was that fight. In every fight, I fought as if it were the final. I entered the tournament to win, but Liz was a big challenge for me. She already fought so many opponents, so she has experience everywhere. She is a tough athlete who has already had to overcome several adversities during fights. Her experience adds to her strength. She’s a military veteran, so she has a strong mental side, too. She is a complete athlete.”

Now, Ditcheva stands in her way. The American Top Team rep carries a 13-0 record, with 12 of her 13 victories having resulted in finishes. Ditcheva qualified for the final on Aug. 2, when she put away the aforementioned Bishop with a front kick to the body and follow-up punch in the first round of their PFL 7 pairing. Santos believes the British kickboxer has weaknesses she can expose.

“Dakota is not an athlete who possesses a type of magic that no one else has,” she said. “She uses her best attributes, which are her height and her striking, but I see that she gets very uncomfortable when she leaves her comfort zone. Experience counts for a lot: the athletes you’ve already faced and the adversities you had to overcome in the fights. I see that she looks very comfortable in her fights, but I also see that when she’s taken to an area that’s not her forte, she gets lost. She gets totally scared. On the contrary, if I need to go to the ground or if I need to go against the cage, I’m fine with that. I know how to get out of those situations. I remain calm due to my experience.

“She’ll bring her game, which is distance and striking,” Santos added, “and I’m going to impose my game, my strategy, to stop her. That’s it.”

The 31-year-old Santos admits the thought of potentially getting her financial house in order in one fell swoop sharpens her focus ahead of the showdown with Ditcheva.

“I think it’s good to think about the prize because money is important,” she said. “It’s important, and it’s welcome, too. It’s yet another motivation, knowing that you’re there doing what you love and getting paid very well on top of that. I think it’s wonderful. It’s extra energy for me.”