8 QUICK QUESTIONS

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At just 24 years old, Luana Santos (8-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has already made a name for herself as one of the most intriguing women’s flyweights to watch in mixed martial arts.

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We caught up with Luana three weeks beforeher impressive first-round submission win against Mariya Agapova in the prelims of theUFC’s event in Denver on July 13.

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1) There’s an incredible level of discipline required to successfully make it as a professional MMA fighter — and it gets even harder when you get to the highest level of the sport with the UFC.

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What does your typical week look like when in training camp and how does it compare to when you're not in training camp?

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My week when I have a scheduled fight is based on training, food and home. Training for 2 to 3workouts after the day, so I get very tired.

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The level of training is very high and demands a lot from me. On weekends I even like to see friends a little, but I usually stay more at home to rest as much as I can.

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2) While fighters in the UFC have to be incredibly well-rounded, almost everyone has a base as a martial artist —and yours is judo.

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Was judo the first martial art you learned?

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Yes, I started in judo when I was 8 years old. I went to MMA at the age of 17. I didn't have the dream of being an MMA fighter, it was God's thing. I was at a friend's house watching UFC and I said jokingly that I would fight MMA. When they introduced me to the owner of 011 MMA in SãoPaulo, I went to do training and fell in love. It was very crazy because I was at my peak in judo. I left everything to start something from zero and it worked 🙏🏻🤣

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3) How do you feel like your stand-up game as a fighter has developed since you first started working on punches and kicks?

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The stand-up fighting part has always been a difficulty for me because I came from the grappling side, but I always trained a lot. My combinations and kicks were so bad at the beginning that no one believed that I would get anywhere lol but I didn't give up and every day I trained more. I managed to merge my judo well with the exchanges so much that it helped me get a knockout in my UFC debut.

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The stand-up fighting part has always been a difficulty for me because I came from the grappling side, but I always trained a lot. My combinations and kicks were so bad at the beginning that no one believed that I would get anywhere lol but I didn't give up and every

day I trained more. I managed to merge my judo well with the exchanges so much that it helped me get a knockout in my UFC debut.

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4) Out in Sacramento, UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber operates his “Team Alpha Male” gym — and the gym has a very deep roster of fighters who train there. When did you first step foot in Urijah Faber’s gym, and how would you describe training there? 

When I arrived at Sacramento and went to do the first training, I got scared! I didn't have a structure like this one in Brazil… the gym was very big with a lot of bignamed people in training. I was dazzled, being in the middle of a lot of important people from UFC made me want to be much more like them. The gym is so big that it looks like a mall 🤣

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5) Women’s MMA has come such a long way — and a great deal of that can be attributed to the star power that Ronda Rousey had as the first female fighter to sign with the UFC. 

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In fact, you had two dogs in 2018 — one named Ronda (in honor of Ronda Rousey) and one named Miesha (in honor of Miesha Tate).

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Like you, Ronda Rousey was a judoka who found her way into MMA and then became one of the biggest superstars in all of sports.

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Were you inspired at all by Ronda or any of the original female UFC fighters?

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I didn't watch much MMA, so I only watched the people who had a lot of names in the UFC, like Ronda (Rousey) and Miesha (Tate). But without a doubt, Ronda was an inspiration for me. I looked at her and said I wanted to be like her. I wanted to have fame, fight well and inspire people like she inspired me. Because Ronda was a judoka, I also believed that we could have a very similar fighting game and that's what happened. In Brazil, my nickname was ‘Brazilian Ronda’ and I loved it!

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6) You fought three times in 2023, with your last fight coming in December. But we finally get to see you fight for the first time in 2024 in July.

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How do you feel going into this upcoming fight?

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I wish I had fought a little earlier, but I had a health problem that I needed to take care of. That's why my fight was made for July. But for me it was perfect! I had a lot of time to organize my workouts well, to go on a diet very well. It's been an amazing camp, I'm feeling very well prepared to get another victory.

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(Note: Luana Santos defeated Mariya Agapova by submission in the first round at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver, Colorado on July 13, 2024).

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7) From looking at your Instagram post back in April, it looks like you had a great time skydiving. How would you compare the adrenaline rush from jumping out of a plane to the thrill of fight night when you’re in the cage against your opponent?

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The adrenaline is very similar! It was a dream to parachute. I felt the same feeling of struggle, those butterflies in my stomach, and the fear of not knowing if it will work out or not. It was an incredible experience and very similar to a fight.

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8) There are plenty of fighters who celebrate a big win with a “cheat meal” that you don’t get to eat while cutting weight for a big fight.

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Do you have any particular desserts or foods that you like to eat after the fight is over?

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After the fight I like to eat everything that is in front of me lol. When I go to fight, I always do a very restricted diet for a long time. So when the fight passes I want to eat everything lol. But my weak point is sweets, I love chocolate!

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