Joanne Wood reacts following first-round submission loss to Taila Santos at UFC Vegas 43

UFC women’s flyweight contender Joanne Wood reacted following her first-round submission loss to Taila Santos at UFC Vegas 43.

Wood was knocked down twice and then choked out by Santos in the first round of their women’s flyweight bout that took place on the UFC Vegas 43 main card. It was by far the best performance of Santos’ UFC career to date, while for Wood it was the first time that she had been knocked down in a UFC fight en route to another stoppage loss. For Wood, this was her second straight defeat following a split decision loss to Lauren Murphy in her last fight, and overall she has lost three of her last four bouts. Although Wood is still one of the top-ranked flyweights in the UFC, she is on a bit of a decline at the moment. Still, it doesn’t take away anything from what Santos did as she put on a great performance.

Taking to her social media following UFC Vegas 43, Wood reacted to her loss to Santos. Wood made absolutely no excuses for the loss, saying that her opponent fought the better fight. Take a look below at the full statement that Wood put out on her Instagram.

Joanne Wood: Felt great tonight and I had a great camp no excuses I just got caught..congratulations to my opponent santos she is a beast! ..This is an unforgiving sport even when you do everything right and everything in your power to be the best prepared you can be it can still just not be good enough. Hard pill to swallow but l love it and I ain’t giving up!

What do you think is next for Joanne Wood following her first-round stoppage loss to Taila Santos at UFC Vegas 43? Do you think she is still a top contender or a gatekeeper now?