Taila Santos to undergo surgery for broken orbital bone after clash of heads with Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 275

Taila Santos will go under the knife after a grueling five-round battle with Valentina Shevchenko in Singapore.

Photo via Tiago Okamura

The Brazilian gave “Bullet” a tough night in the office in the flyweight championship co-main event of UFC 275 on Saturday, losing via split decision after 25 minutes of action, and was transported to a local hospital immediately after the contest. Exams revealed she suffered a broken orbital bone under the right eye, courtesy of an accidental clash of heads with Shevchenko in the third round.

Speaking with MMA Fighting on Sunday, Santos’ manager Tiago Okamura said they are opting to have the surgery in Brazil instead of doing the procedure in Singapore.

“We had two options,” Okamura said. “To have surgery here, and God knows how long we’d have to stay and how the recovery would take, or wait two weeks for the swelling to reduce a little bit and then have the surgery.

“The doctors said the long flight [back to Brazil] would not be a problem, and we would have a better support back home, since [Santos] would only stay with one person [in Singapore].”

Santos, now 19-2 as a professional, came the closest to beating Shevchenko in a flyweight fight and several members of the MMA community were surprised at the scorecards. Ultimately, she returns home empty-handed. It’s still unclear how long Santos will remain sidelined after surgery and if the UFC will consider once again booking her against the 125-pound queen once she’s cleared to compete.