Yana Santos - Luana Santos: (November 1, 2026): statistics, personal meetings, and bookmaker odds

Current form

Yana Santos has finally caught a wave on which to sail far. The Russian won three fights in a row, and all three ended with unanimous decisions of the judges. Her rivals were Macy Chiasson, Misha Tate and Chelsea Chandler. These are serious names, and it would be reckless to write Yana off. She has seven wins and five losses in the UFC, and has experience of performing at the highest level. The Russian is ranked sixth in her division.

But this story has a sequel, and it's not that simple. Luana Santos represents perhaps the most unpleasant stylistic challenge for a Russian woman in recent times. Yana prefers to work from a distance, use striking techniques and not get involved in unnecessary exchanges. However, good rack work alone may not be enough. Her protection against transfers to the stalls does not look reliable: the Russian stops only 51% of takedown attempts. Even Holly Holm managed to send a Russian woman to the floor four times.

However, Yana did not come to martial arts yesterday. At the age of 12, she started practicing hand-to-hand combat and tried her hand at boxing. She started mixed martial arts at the age of 18.  In 2017, Santos won the Invicta FC bantamweight title by defeating Raquel Paaluhi. Prior to that, her confrontation with Tonya Evinger turned into a complicated story: the first fight was declared invalid, and in the rematch, Yana lost with a choke hold in the second round. He made his UFC debut in March 2018, against Chris Justino in a featherweight title fight. The Russian lost by technical knockout in the first round. Today, her professional record is 17 wins and eight losses. Of the victories, seven were won by knockout, one by submission, and the rest by decision of the judges.

Current form

Luana Santos approaches the meeting with no less convincing arguments. In the UFC, the Brazilian scored six wins with one loss and is now also on a series of three successful performances. She beat Carol Rosa and Melissa Kroden on points, and forced Taynara Lisboa to surrender with the help of Americana. In other words, Luana knows how to win in different ways, and for her opponent it's always an additional headache.

The Brazilian is ten years younger than Yana and ranks seventh in the division rankings. Her main weapon is fighting. On average, Luana performs 2.14 successful takedowns in 15 minutes, and in terms of control time in a dominant position and the number of transfers, she is one of the best fighters in the category. If she manages to force the Russian woman to fight at the net, and then gain a foothold on top, Yana's position can quickly become extremely unpleasant.

Luana's path in martial arts began with judo: she entered the tatami at the age of eight, following her father's example. Subsequently, the Brazilian joined the national team, won the European Cadet Cup in 2017 and received a black belt at the age of 18. Because of the similarity of her style to Ronda Rousey, she was nicknamed the Brazilian Ronda. Luana made her professional MMA debut in 2021, and signed a contract with the UFC in June 2023. In August of the same year, she knocked out Juliana Miller in the first round.