Luana Santos
Brazil
Leans on grappling in victory
Santos defeated Melissa Croden via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
It was far from pretty, but Santos kept things simple and employed an effective game plan. Neither combatant landed any notable blows, but the Brazilian's three successful takedowns and 9:21 worth of control time ensured she would be the won winning a decision. On a less positive note, Santos managed just a dozen significant strikes, an unfathomable number given how much of the fight she spent in a dominant position. Still just 25 years old and sporting a 5-1 record in her first half dozen UFC fights, it's impossible to argue with the results thus far, but the limited power Santos possesses figures to hurt her sooner or later.
It was far from pretty, but Santos kept things simple and employed an effective game plan. Neither combatant landed any notable blows, but the Brazilian's three successful takedowns and 9:21 worth of control time ensured she would be the won winning a decision. On a less positive note, Santos managed just a dozen significant strikes, an unfathomable number given how much of the fight she spent in a dominant position. Still just 25 years old and sporting a 5-1 record in her first half dozen UFC fights, it's impossible to argue with the results thus far, but the limited power Santos possesses figures to hurt her sooner or later.
Fight Log
Loading Fight Log...
More Fantasy News
Croden fight moved
Santos is scheduled to compete against Melissa Croden in a bantamweight fight at UFC Vegas 112 on Dec. 13, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Santos and Croden will have more than a month to prepare for their upcoming bout. Initially slated to fight the 2-1 Daria Zhelezniakova, the former got a new opponent on Oct. 23.
Santos and Croden will have more than a month to prepare for their upcoming bout. Initially slated to fight the 2-1 Daria Zhelezniakova, the former got a new opponent on Oct. 23.
Gets new opponent
Santos will now take on Melissa Croden in a bantamweight bout at UFC Vegas 111 on November 8, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Santos was initially slated to face the 2-1 Daria Zhelezniakova in November, but the latter has been pulled from the card for undisclosed reasons. Now, she'll get to face a less experienced fighter in Croden, who is 1-0 in the UFC after besting Tianara Lisboa on Oct. 18. Santos herself will be looking to improve on her impressive 4-1 mark in the promotion.
Santos was initially slated to face the 2-1 Daria Zhelezniakova in November, but the latter has been pulled from the card for undisclosed reasons. Now, she'll get to face a less experienced fighter in Croden, who is 1-0 in the UFC after besting Tianara Lisboa on Oct. 18. Santos herself will be looking to improve on her impressive 4-1 mark in the promotion.
Set for UFC Vegas 111
Santos will take on Daria Zhelezniakova in a bantamweight matchup at UFC Vegas 111 on Nov. 8, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Santos has posted a solid 4-1 record in the UFC with three finishes, most recently submitting Tainara Lisboa in May to rebound from her only loss. She now draws Zhelezniakova, who is 2-1 in the UFC and coming off a unanimous decision victory over Melissa Mullins in June. She'll give up slight height and reach advantages to Zhelezniakova, who also has superior striking marks (albeit over a smaller sample size). Santos also has the better wrestling stats, most notable takedown average, as she has accumulated 1.91 takedowns per 15 minutes of fight time and registered one or more in each of her last four bouts.
Santos has posted a solid 4-1 record in the UFC with three finishes, most recently submitting Tainara Lisboa in May to rebound from her only loss. She now draws Zhelezniakova, who is 2-1 in the UFC and coming off a unanimous decision victory over Melissa Mullins in June. She'll give up slight height and reach advantages to Zhelezniakova, who also has superior striking marks (albeit over a smaller sample size). Santos also has the better wrestling stats, most notable takedown average, as she has accumulated 1.91 takedowns per 15 minutes of fight time and registered one or more in each of her last four bouts.
Gets right back in win column
Santos defeated Tainara Lisboa via submission (keylock) at 4:59 of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
It's a massive rebound performance from Santos on the heels of a lopsided unanimous decision defeat to Casey O'Neill at UFC 305 last August. She recognized a hole in Lisboa's defense and exploited it without issue. Santos turned two takedown attempts into 7:57 worth of control time, a ridiculous number for a fight which lasted less than 10 minutes. The submission finally materialized with just a second remaining in Round 2. Still just 25 years of age, Santos improves to 4-1 in her first five UFC bouts. The next challenge will be to defeat some better competition.
It's a massive rebound performance from Santos on the heels of a lopsided unanimous decision defeat to Casey O'Neill at UFC 305 last August. She recognized a hole in Lisboa's defense and exploited it without issue. Santos turned two takedown attempts into 7:57 worth of control time, a ridiculous number for a fight which lasted less than 10 minutes. The submission finally materialized with just a second remaining in Round 2. Still just 25 years of age, Santos improves to 4-1 in her first five UFC bouts. The next challenge will be to defeat some better competition.
Lisboa up next
Santos is scheduled to compete against Tainara Lisboa in a bantamweight fight at UFC Vegas 106 on May 17, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Santos will look to get back to winning ways after getting decisively beaten by Casey O'Neill at UFC 305. Before the O'Neill loss, Santos was perfect in the UFC and will look to prove that pay-per-view defeat was a one-off that will not continue in future bouts.
Santos will look to get back to winning ways after getting decisively beaten by Casey O'Neill at UFC 305. Before the O'Neill loss, Santos was perfect in the UFC and will look to prove that pay-per-view defeat was a one-off that will not continue in future bouts.