Luana Santos and Yana Santos both enter UFC Vegas 123 on three-fight win streaks, and the Brazilian expects to insert herself in the conversation for a shot at the bantamweight title with an emphatic victory at Meta APEX on Oct. 31.
The 135-pound clash goes down in the main card portion of Saturday’s show in Las Vegas (“a turning point for the division,” according to Luana) just weeks away from the highly anticipated title bout between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes at UFC 334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden.
“We have to wait for Amanda and Kayla to see whether they’re going to retire or not, but that’s still up in the air,” Luana Santos told MMA Fighting. “I don’t think Amanda will, but I think Kayla might, given how difficult it is for her to make weight. I think this win will be a turning point in determining who the next title challenger will be, who won’t be, or who will fight for a shot at the title. Anyway, I’m really anxious and really want this win. Your next fight is always the most important one, and this one definitely carries much more weight.”
Joselyne Edwards has been appointed as the backup fighter for Harrison vs. Nunes, but Santos still foresees a scenario where she surpasses both Edwards and Ailin Perez in a race for the No. 1 contender spot.
“I have two contenders ahead of me, Ailin and Joselyne, who are coming off very good winning streaks and have already fought each other,” Santos said. “I think it’s definitely possible that I could get the next title shot, depending on how I win, but we can’t forget that there are two other major contenders ahead of me as well. If I get a submission or a knockout, and I’m not next in line, then I’ll be one win away from a title shot.”
Edwards and Perez both defeated Norma Dumont in their most recent fights, but the 26-year-old Santos believes she has the it factor as a more “marketable fighter” than those two.
“The UFC wasn’t happy with Ailin’s last performance,” Santos said. “She only has one submission in the UFC, and if I get an early finish now, I’ll have four finishes in the UFC. So yes, it’s possible the UFC could move me ahead of them. I’m definitely going to ask for the title shot. That’s what I want, that’s my goal, and then we’ll see what makes the most sense for the UFC. I think I’m someone the UFC sees value in as a marketable fighter.”
Yana Santos beat Macy Chiasson, Miesha Tate and Chelsea Chandler in her most recent UFC fights to rebound from a three-fight skid between 2021 and 2023, and Luana knows beating her is no easy task. That said, Luana envisions a finish to further distance her from other title hopefuls.
“She’s on a good run, but unfortunately, she’s going down on the 31st,” Luana said with a laugh. “I’ve worked really hard to finish the fight early. Really hard. I’ve done a lot of boxing, improved my jiu-jitsu even more, tightened up my game, and trained a lot of wrestling. I’m going in there to finish the fight early, for sure.”
“Yana is a tough girl,” she continued. “I see her as one of those annoying opponents to fight, with those tricky movements. She’s difficult to read because she’s somewhat unpredictable, so I see this as a tough fight. She’s very experienced, 10 years older than me. Even though I’ve been fighting since I was eight years old, that counts for a lot. Her experience in the UFC is much greater than mine. But I’ve trained a lot, I’m very well prepared, I’m in a really good place mentally, and I really want this win. Everything is in place for this to be a very good fight.”
