Brutal elbow strike leaves Taila Santos defenseless and Dakota Ditcheva keeps PFL belt

Taila Santos lost to Dakota Ditcheva in the PFL / Reproduction X

A brutal elbow left Taila Santos defenseless during her fight against women's flyweight champion (up to 56,7 kg) Dakota Ditcheva, in the co-main event of the PFL World Championship this Friday (29), in Saudi Arabia. The Brazilian was one of the first victims of the blow that was prohibited and was allowed this week in the league. Taila was unable to react after the violent blow that hit her face, giving the victory to 'Dangerous', who remains undefeated in the league and with the belt of the category.

This was Taila's fourth defeat in 26 professional fights. The Brazilian gained recognition in the MMA world after facing Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC flyweight title in a very close fight, but ended up losing by split decision. She has since left the UFC and signed with the PFL/Bellator group. In addition to the belt, Taila lost the US$ 1 million prize (R$ 5,9 million at the current exchange rate).

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The dominant performance was easily the biggest win of Dakota's undefeated MMA career, and she was also the fifth consecutive fighter to win by knockout on an action-packed 2024 PFL World Championship card featuring six title fights.

Brutal elbow

It took less than a minute for Taila to close the distance and attempt to secure a takedown against the fence before quickly falling to her back. 'Dangerous' continued to stifle the Brazilian's efforts as she steadily increased her volume of strikes throughout the second round.

With Taila cornered against the fence in the final seconds of the round, Ditcheva landed a violent elbow to her face. The Brazilian felt the blow and was unable to react, trying to protect herself from her opponent's barrage of punches. The referee then ended the fight, giving the victory to 'Dangerous' by technical knockout.