Yana Santos emerged victorious over Macy Chiasson last weekend (Sat., Oct. 4, 2025) at UFC 320, but it wasn’t easy. Chiasson missed weight by 1.5 pounds and didn’t take the additional hour to try to lose the weight, meaning the former Featherweight entered the cage larger without having to fully drain herself. Though Santos received 25% of her opponent’s purse because of the miss, it still wasn’t fair from a sporting perspective.
Fortunately, Santos fought well. She was able to take the first two rounds on the strength of her mobile kickboxing and aggressive clinch offense, but the effort wore her down. By round three, Chiasson was able to track her down and gain top position, and Santos spent the finally two minutes of the fight getting roughed up by a bigger opponent.
Immediately after the weigh-in, Santos blasted Chiasson for failing to make weight like a professional. Unfortunately, it’s a situation that Santos is facing often, as she’s fought four opponents who have missed weight in her last seven bouts. Though she won three of those bouts, it’s a difficult situation, and Santos doesn’t believe the UFC to be sympathetic. In fact, “Foxy” said it was clear that if she were to turn down an overweight foe, she would be the fighter punished.
“A couple of fights ago when my opponent missed a lot of weight and we were thinking should we take the fight or not, UFC made it very clear that the person who will be punished is me if I refuse to fight,” Santos told MMA Fighting. “So I’m not getting paid, I have a chance to be cut and all these things. It’s like the opponent who missed weight is [not] going to have a problem. It’s me that has problems. So I can’t see that as an option. It is what it is. If I want to keep my job, I have to fight.”
There is historical precedent for fighter purses being paid if they turn down an overweight opponent, but that may no longer be the case in our current era. In 2023, for example, Stephen Thompson turned down a grossly overweight Michel Pereira and never received his full purse despite completing and paying for an entire training camp. “Wonderboy” was never threatened with free agency (as far as anybody knows!), but he’s also a much bigger name than Santos.
For an athlete on the undercard, there’s considerable pressure to show up regardless of the circumstances.
On the bright side, Santos is currently riding a three-fight win streak, the first of her UFC career. Her win over Chiasson boosted her into the women’s Bantamweight Top Five, so Santos’ position on the UFC roster looks rather safe for the immediate future, even if UFC brass probably isn’t thrilled by the content of these quotes.
