Luana Santos is set to make her UFC debut against The Ultimate Fighter 30 winner Juliana Miller, a journey that began with training in judo at age 8, an eventual black belt, international tournament triumphs, and inspiration from Ronda Rousey, culminating in a successful amateur and professional MMA career.
Luana Santos will make her Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut on Saturday as she goes head-to-head with Juliana Miller, the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 30. Santos’s involvement in martial arts began quite by chance. Raised by a father who was a judo competitor, Santos’s father wanted his kids to follow in his footsteps. Despite his wife’s apprehension towards the idea of having their daughter participate in an activity she deemed unfeminine (as she would have preferred her doing ballet), Luana was drawn to judo, becoming a gold medalist by the time she was 18 years old.
“I was never girly, playing with dolls and stuff like that, and I loved judo,” Santos conveyed in an interview. She held numerous wins under her belt including accolades from the IJF Cadets World Tour in Turkey as well as tournaments in Germany and Brazil. Santos’s dreams extended beyond judo when she began to see Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in a new light while representing the Brazilian national judo team.
“I never dreamed about going to MMA,” she said, “I say that me going to MMA was written [in the stars], it had to happen, because I went to MMA by chance.” Her chance encounter with MMA began at a friend’s house where she was watching a UFC event. A huge fan of Ronda Rousey due to her judo background and story, Santos joked about participating in the UFC one day. To her surprise, her friend’s father’s friend took her seriously and introduced her to the owner of 011, a traditional MMA team in Sao Paulo.
Hesitant about leaving her prime judo career and swapping judo mats for MMA octagons, she nonetheless gave it a shot. With judo providing her with a solid foundation, Santos went into MMA boldly, albeit without much experience in punching and kicking. She commenced her amateur MMA career in 2019, drawing inspiration from Ronda Rousey. Her professional performances lead her to the UFC where she’s set to face Miller in her debut match. Despite the high stakes, Santos remains calm, attributing her collected demeanor to a lifetime of travel and fighting. “I don’t feel much pressure in the UFC because I’m traveling and fighting since I was a kid, so my head is used to this,” claimed Santos.