Yana Santos vs Luana Santos: #6 and #7 Collide at Bantamweight
Two ranked bantamweights who share a surname meet on Oct. 31 at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Russia's Yana Santos (#6, 17-8) is 36 and has been in the UFC since March 2018. Brazil's Luana Santos (#7, 11-2) is 26 and made her Octagon debut in August 2023.
Both stand 5-foot-6, and Yana holds a slight reach edge, 68.5 inches to 67. Beyond the tale of the tape, they barely overlap:
- Volume: Yana lands 4.41 significant strikes per minute to Luana's 2.53, and absorbs 3.12 to Luana's 2.45.
- Accuracy: 58% for Yana, 54% for Luana.
- Defense: Luana avoids 64% of significant strikes and stops 86% of takedowns. Yana sits at 53% and 52%.
- Grappling: Luana averages 2.14 takedowns and 0.97 submission attempts per 15 minutes. Yana averages 0.78 and 0.10.
- Where they work: 39% of Yana's significant strikes come in the clinch. Luana does 89% of her work at distance and only 9% in the clinch.
- Finishes: Yana has seven knockouts, seven first-round wins and one submission. Luana flips it, with five submissions, one knockout and four first-round wins.
Yana's volume doesn't come with much single-shot power: her knockdown average is 0.10, and 53% of her wins have come on the scorecards. Luana's wins split evenly between submissions and decisions, 45% each. Both are used to long nights, too, with average UFC fight times of 12:48 for Yana and 11:01 for Luana. Yana has the edge in Octagon experience, having debuted more than five years before Luana, but Luana has lost just twice in 13 pro fights.
That sets up the key question: can Luana get this to the mat, where five of her wins came by submission, against a defense that stops only about half of all takedown attempts, or will Yana tie her up in the clinch and win the volume battle? If the takedowns don't come, Luana is left trading on the feet with a striker who lands nearly twice as often and is comfortable working in close.
Prelims start at 2 p.m. local time, and the main card goes off at 5 p.m. Grab your seat: Santos vs Santos tickets.