Ex-Title Challenger Taila Santos to Face Erin Blanchfield at UFC Fight Night 219

Recent flyweight title challenger Taila Santos will square off against surging prospect Erin Blanchfield at UFC Fight Night 219 on Feb. 18.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking after Blanchfield announced the matchup on the "Morning Kombat” show. Blanchfield also revealed that she has signed a new four-fight contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion. UFC Fight Night 219 takes place at the UFC Apex and does not yet a main event.

Santos is coming off a five-round, split-decision loss to Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC 275 co-main event this past June, when she gave the reigning flyweight queen arguably the toughest test of her championship reign. Prior to that defeat, the 29-year-old Astra Fight Team representative had won four straight bouts in the Octagon, with notable victories over the likes of Joanne Wood, Roxanne Modafferi and Molly McCann.

Blanchfield, 23, has emerged as one of the most intriguing talents in the division since making her promotional debut in September 2021. The Invicta FC veteran has since gone 4-0 in UFC competition, besting Sarah Alpar, Miranda Maverick, J.J. Aldrich and McCann in succession. The Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu export has lost just once in 11 professional outings — a split-decision setback against Tracy Cortez at Invicta FC 34 in February 2019.