Yana Santos: 'UFC made it very clear' I would get punished 'if I refuse to fight' opponent who missed weight

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In four of her past seven fights in the UFC, Yana Santos has faced an opponent that failed to make weight. The latest incident with Macy Chiasson nearly sent her over the edge.

This past Friday ahead of UFC 320, Santos raged after Chiasson hit the scale at 137.5 pounds — a pound and a half over the limit for a non-title fight — and ultimately faced only a 25 percent penalty of her purse for missing weight. Afterwards, Santos immediately called for harsher punishment being handed down for athletes who fail to make the contracted weight for a fight.

But perhaps the toughest part about this latest incident was Santos feeling like she had no other choice but to face Chiasson regardless of how much she actually weighed.

"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."

While she didn't name that fight specifically, Santos took on Chelsea Chandler back in 2024 after Chandler weighed 141 pounds, a staggering five pounds over the limit for a non-title bantamweight bout. Santos went on to win a unanimous decision, but the result didn't make her feel much better about facing an opponent with an obvious physical advantage.

Sadly, Santos knows there's at least one example when a fighter turned down an opponent who missed weight and had that decision effectively end their UFC career.

Back in April 2018, Leslie Smith was scheduled to face Aspen Ladd at UFC New Jersey, but Ladd missed the mark and came in 1.8 pounds over the bantamweight limit. Despite efforts to find a middle ground to keep the fight on the card, Smith eventually declined to face Ladd.

Smith was paid her show and win bonus for the final fight on her UFC contract and was subsequently removed from the roster.

"I saw this example so many times," Santos said. "One girl missed weight, the other girl refused to fight and they cut her. It's multiple times so I don't want to be in this position. It's so wrong, the person who did everything correct will be punished but it is what it is."

Ideally, Santos would love to see stiffer penalties handed down to fighters who don't make weight so it becomes a real deterrent.

As it stands now, the 35-year-old bantamweight believes some athletes effectively game the system knowing that the punishment won't hurt as bad as suffering through a tough weight cut that could compromise them in a fight.

"You're winning the fight, you get a higher ranking, you're getting your full bonus money, the money for your next fight grows … I'm pretty sure if it's something stronger, we're going to have less people miss weight," Santos said. "I understand some people have some situations, some trouble and they really [had problems making weight]. We show so many times people shaking [on the scale], they're falling down, losing their mind when they cut weight but it's not all this is the reason.

"Like I saw my opponent, she walked up pretty well, she was energized, she had weight to cut, she had time to do this but she just refused. I believe if she had a stronger penalty, she would go and cut this pound. It's like 15 minutes in the sauna, just struggle a little more. A stronger punishment, people will take this with more responsibility."

It also bothered Santos that Chiasson never apologized for missing weight, but instead pointed out that she gave up 25 percent of her purse as a penalty so that should be enough.

"How things were handled is what made me so upset," Santos said. "Because first of all, no one told me she missed weight, just I had to stay there and see. No one asked me if I wanted to fight or not. It is what it is. No one said sorry before fight or after fight.

"After the fight, I had to go to her and say, 'You should apologize at least.' It didn't come from anyone from [her] team or UFC team, it was just like [it] becomes something regular that every fight my opponent missed weight and I had to fight. It makes me feel like it's not how it's supposed to be."

Santos admits she admired Chiasson heading into their matchup at UFC 320, but her opinion has dramatically changed in the wake of the weigh-cutting fiasco and the aftermath of the fight.

"Before the fight, I respected her so much," Santos said. "I liked her personality and all these things and I tried not to keep any negativity. When the fight's finished, I try to keep negativity from my opponent. But it's a little hard because I really think it's wrong how she handled this situation."