UFC women’s flyweight Taila Santos is headed to court after being accused of unsavory business practice by coaches and manager in Brazil.
Santos is the current No. 2 contender at 125 pounds. She has transitioned from being a relatively unknown and underestimated figure in the Octagon to being seen as a viable challenger to Valentina Shevchenko’s dominance.
Santos traveled to Singapore for UFC 275 in June with the goal of completing a feat that few people thought she had a chance of doing. The Brazilian gave Shevchenko her hardest test to date despite going into her championship bout as a significant underdog against a champion who had easily dismissed everyone in her way.
Santos put up a brave effort that led many to want an instant rematch. This is despite the fact that she eventually lost on the scorecards, a result that divided combatants, fans, and commentators.
Now, Santos is engaged in a legal battle over missed payments. Athletes need a committed team of professionals around them in order to achieve the top level of mixed martial arts, both in terms of coaching and simulations offered by other fighters.
Because of this, the majority of athletes hire out to help with their training in camp and pay them for their assistance. Santos seemed to have completed all tasks except for that last one.
According to a report from the Brazilian publication O Municpio, the UFC flyweight and her husband have both been charged with “scamming” at least three other athletes. This includes Patrcio Barbosa Farias, her own brother-in-law.
The people revealed everything about the alleged oversight in an exclusive interview.
Patricio said,
“It was like this with me and two other teachers of hers. He assembled the teams, promised (verbally) payments and contracts, but out of nowhere, he got angry and intruded in training.”
“After creating intrigue, he sent the professionals away, but never paid for the service they were provided.”
Patrcio thinks Santos endorsed the fraud but believes it sprang from his brother’s head. He reported it to the police after being in debt as a consequence of the missed payments.
“The coup is always the same and in the end, it’s both their fault. One has the idea and the other approves. They partner with you, train for a while, and then leave, but they don’t pay anything. Just in this joke, I already have R$15,000 in debt.”
R$15,000 converts to about 900 US dollars.
It’s unclear how much Santos made for her title shot considering that Singapore’s athletic commission doesn’t release those details. One thing’s for sure – she missed out on the $50,000 bonus due to their bout going the distance.
Marcio Malko of Thai Brasil Floripa and Marcelo Brigadeiro of Astra seem to have also been victims of Santos’ plan as well.
After months of training in anticipation of Santos’ historic chance to win the title at UFC 275, Malko was not given the agreed-upon cash. He was instead issued a letter outlining his legal options should he desire to pursue compensation.
The fact that both teams are seeking to get the funds they were promised via legal methods shows that’s precisely what they’ve done. Brigadeiro claims that this is the first time he has ever had such a problem in MMA.