It appears to be time for O’Neill to retool, and it’ll be
interesting to see where she goes from here. Representing Scotland
and Australia, “King” was relatively unproven at the regional level
but quickly established herself as a prospect with a high floor,
racking up wins in the UFC with some smart ideas built around her
dogged aggression. The main questions for O’Neill, then in her
early 20s, centered around her physical ceiling. She was
successfully able to bully around the lower half of the UFC’s
flyweight roster, but there was worry that might prove to be a
stiffer challenge once O’Neill got the type of tests that would set
her up for title contention. Indeed, that wound up coming true in a
rough 2023 campaign for O’Neill, who mostly got stifled in her two
big jumps in competition. Jennifer
Maia just steadily outmaneuvered her and picked her apart as
she pressured, while O’Neill just charged into the teeth of a more
violent fight against Ariane
Lipski. The good news for O’Neill is that this fight against
Santos represents a big step back in competition that should allow
her to retool, but the Brazilian could still prove to be a tricky
opponent. Nothing about Santos looked particularly UFC-ready when
the promotion picked her up in 2023, but she has done well to feast
on the bottom rungs of the roster. She might not have a ton of
depth to her game, but she has proven tough and surprisingly
physical, outlasting opponents who haven’t had much to offer. It’d
be nice to see O’Neill show some new wrinkles, but even if she
remains set on her bullying ways, she should be the more effective
fighter here, even while making things tougher than they need to
be. The pick is O’Neill via decision.
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