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PFL Women's Flyweight

Taila Santos VS Sabrina de Sousa

Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, Florida, U.S.

Tale of the Tape

23-5-0 Record 7-0-0
33 Age 25
167 cm Height 163 cm
172 cm Reach —
orthodox Stance unknown
65% Finish rate 43%
48% KO rate 29%
17% Sub rate 14%

Result Summary

Sabrina de Sousa def. Taila Santos Decision (unanimous) · R3 5:00

The highly anticipated women's flyweight clash between former world title challenger Taila Santos and rising undefeated prospect Sabrina de Sousa proved to be a grueling, tactical battle that went the full three rounds. Santos looked to utilize her veteran experience and dangerous striking early, attempting to keep the fight standing and dictate the striking exchanges. However, the younger de Sousa quickly implemented her elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling pedigree. Throughout the match, de Sousa consistently closed the distance, initiating clinches and successfully securing multiple takedowns. Once on the mat, de Sousa showcased her suffocating top pressure, positional control, and smooth transitions, heavily neutralizing much of Santos's offense from the bottom. While Santos showed incredible heart and defensive resilience to survive and look for sweeps, she was unable to create enough separation to swing the momentum back in her favor. The fight concluded at the final bell with de Sousa clearly controlling the grappling and pace of the bout, earning a hard-fought decision victory after 15 minutes of action to advance her flawless record to 7-0.

Fight Overview

PFL No. 3 women's flyweight Taila Santos, who went five rounds with champion Dakota Ditcheva in a title challenge, returns with a point to prove against undefeated No. 9 Sabrina de Sousa, who brings a perfect 6-0 record and an upward trajectory into the biggest test of her career. Santos's championship-level grappling and experience versus de Sousa's unbeaten momentum and developing skills makes this a classic ranked-veteran-versus-rising-prospect clash. Santos needs a convincing performance; de Sousa needs to prove her record survives elite competition.

Keys to Victory

Taila Santos

  1. Use her championship-level grappling depth to impose positional control and prevent de Sousa from building an unbeaten prospect's momentum.
  2. Protect against body attacks, which proved her most exploitable vulnerability in the Ditcheva title fight.
  3. Look for takedown-to-submission sequences where her experience gap over de Sousa is most pronounced.

Sabrina de Sousa

  1. Use her fresh legs and unbeaten confidence to push a high-volume pace and prove the perfect record is built on genuine quality.
  2. Test Santos's body early to see whether the vulnerability from the Ditcheva fight has truly been addressed in training camp.
  3. Stay composed and technical if taken down rather than panic-scrambling into submission setups from Santos's experienced ground game.

Last 5 fights

Taila Santos

  1. W Qihui Yan TKO · R1 2:02 · 2 MAY 2026
  2. L Dakota Ditcheva TKO · 4:41 · 29 NOV 2024
  3. W Liz Carmouche Decision · R3 5:00 · 2 AUG 2024
  4. W Jena Bishop Decision · R3 5:00 · 13 JUN 2024
  5. W Ilara Joanne Submission · R1 3:57 · 4 APR 2024

Sabrina de Sousa

  1. W Cheyanne Bowers Decision · R3 5:00 · 2 MAY 2026
  2. W Paulina Wiśniewska Decision · R3 5:00 · 13 DEC 2025
  3. W Saray Orozco Decision · R3 5:00 · 15 AUG 2025
  4. W Sara dos Santos KO · R2 0:32 · 2 MAY 2025
  5. W Mariane Mariano Submission · R3 4:47 · 13 DEC 2024

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AI-generated This analysis was generated with AI and may contain errors.

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