Erin Blanchfield vs. Taila Santos tabbed as new headliner for UFC Vegas 69 on February 18th

There’s a new main event for UFC Vegas 69 later this month.

The card is slated for February 18th and will be held at the UFC Apex. The card was originally slated to be headlined by a bantamweight clash between Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera. However, those plans have now changed.

UFC San Antonio is slated for March and had no headliner until this morning. With that, the promotion announced that ‘The Sandman’ and ‘Chito’ will be the new main event for the card earlier today. Due to that, UFC Vegas 69 had to find a new headliner.

Luckily, they didn’t have to look far, as ranked women’s flyweights were already set for the co-main event. With that, Erin Blanchfield and Taila Santos have moved to the new headliner position.

‘Cold Blooded’ is fresh off her first-round submission victory over Molly McCann in November at UFC 281. That win moved Blanchfield’s winning streak to seven, with four coming inside the octagon. She previously began her UFC career with dominant wins over JJ Aldrich, Miranda Maverick, and Sarah Alpar.

The 23-year-old is viewed as one of the greatest prospects currently in the UFC but will have her hands full in her first main event. For her part, Santos enters her first headlining role off her controversial decision defeat to Valentina Shevchenko last June.

The Brazilian called for an immediate rematch with ‘Bullet’, but instead, the title shot went to Alexa Grasso. In her UFC career thus far, Santos has captured victories over names such as Joanne Wood, Roxanne Modafferi, Gillian Robertson, and more.

Beyond the headliner, UFC Vegas 69 will see the return of veterans such as Jim Miller and Ovince Saint Preux. They will face Gabriel Benitez and Phillipe Lins, respectively, at the event.

What do you make of this fight announcement? Are you excited about UFC Vegas 69 later this month? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!