Taila Santos didn’t win Saturday at UFC 275, but she perhaps gained respect from MMA fans for her valiant effort in a close decision loss to women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
The street credit came with a price, though, as a clash of heads caused immediate swelling and visible injury to the right side of Santos’ face in Round 4. On Sunday, Santos’ manager, Tiago Okamura,of On The Road Management, informed MMA Junkie that his fighter suffered a broken orbital as a result of the collision.
According to Okamura, Santos will head back to her native Brazil where she will undergo surgery to repair the damages. Her timetable for recovery is not yet known, though broken orbital bones typically take approximately three weeks to heal.
Santos, 28, lost her first UFC title shot by split decision. The defeat snapped a four-fight winning streak that included victories against Molly McCann, Gillian Robertson, Roxanne Modafferi, and Joanne Wood.
