| Yana Santos | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yana Kunitskaya (1989-11-11) November 11, 1989 (age 34) Murmansk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Other names | Foxy |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) |
| Division | Featherweight Bantamweight |
| Reach | 68+1⁄2 in (174 cm)[1] |
| Style | Taekwondo, Muay Thai, ARB, Gaidojutsu |
| Fighting out of | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Team | Jackson Wink MMA American Top Team |
| Rank | Black belt in Taekwondo[3] |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 23 |
| Wins | 14 |
| By knockout | 7 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 6 |
| Losses | 8 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 3 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Spouse | Thiago Santos |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Yana Santos (née Kunitskaya; born November 11, 1989) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist competing in the bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of April 16, 2024, she is #12 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings.[4]
Yana Santos was born in 1989, in the city of Murmansk, Murmansk Oblast, in northwestern Russia. Her mother, Olga Kunitskaya, was a professional gymnast and her father, Joseph, was a professional skier. She has a younger sister, Victoria. Yana became involved in martial arts early in her childhood, starting with taekwondo at preschool age, and won numerous tournaments among both girls and boys, with many fights ending in knockouts.[5] At 12 years old, she began competing in hand-to-hand combat (Russian: рукопашный бой), participating in a large number of fights without suffering a defeat. When she was 16 years old, Santos went to live and study in St. Petersburg, and entered the SPGUFK[expand acronym] team at Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health, Department of Boxing. At age 18, she started practicing mixed martial arts (MMA).
On August 9, 2012, Santos announced that she was pregnant with her first child.[6] In August 2013, she announced the end of her sports career and her transition to coaching, but she came out of retirement three years later.[7] She then signed a contract with the Invicta Fighting Championships (IFC or Invicta FC) in which only females compete.
Santos made her professional mixed-martial-arts debut on May 23, 2009, at a K-1 World Grand Prix event in Poland. She defeated Magdalena Jarecka by technical knockout (TKO) in the first round. After winning two of her next three fights, Santos faced unbeaten prospect Cindy DandoisatM-1 Challenge XXII on December 10, 2010. She defeated Dandois by TKO in 34 seconds.[8] On November 19, 2011, Santos faced Arune Lauzeckaite at Bushido Hero's: World Grand Prix Lithuania, winning by TKO in the first round.[9]
In 2012, Santos faced Ekaterina Saraykina at Verdict Fighting Championship 1 on February 11,[10] defeating Saraykina by TKO in the first round.[11] In March, she faced Anna Melikhova at Lion's Fights 1[12] and won by unanimous decision after two rounds.[13] She then defeated Sylwia Kusiak by TKO in round one at Baltic Arena in Koszalin, Poland, in June.[14] Santos was scheduled to face Danielle West at Starlight Events: Gladiator World Cup 2012 on July 6 in Marbella, Spain,[14] but the event was cancelled.[15]
Santos had fought almost exclusively in Russia,[9][16] and built her record to 9 wins and 2 losses before signing to Invicta FC.
Yana defeated Tonya Evinger for the Invicta FC Bantamweight title on November 18, 2016.[17][18] On December 1, the win was overturned to a no contest, so Evinger retained her title.[19] Santos faced Evinger in a rematch in the main event of Invicta FC 22 on March 25, 2017, and lost by submission in the second round.[20]
Santos defeated Raquel Pa'aluhi at Invicta FC 25 on August 31, 2017, to win the vacant Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship.[21]
Santos made her Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotional debut at UFC 222 on March 3, 2018, against Cris Cyborg for the featherweight title.[22] She lost the fight by TKO in the first round.[23]
Santos next faced Lina Länsberg on October 6, 2018, at UFC 229.[24] She won the fight via unanimous decision[25]
Santos then faced Marion Reneau on March 9, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 146.[26] She won the fight by unanimous decision.[27]
Santos faced Aspen Ladd on December 7, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 7.[28] She lost the fight via technical knockout in round three.[29]
Santos was scheduled to face Ketlen Vieira on August 1, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Aldana.[30] and on July 15, 2020, it was announced that the bout was moved to UFC Fight Night 174 on August 8, 2020.[31] Subsequently, Vieira was removed from the card on July 30 for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Julija Stoliarenko.[32] She won the fight via unanimous decision.[33]
The bout with Ketlen Vieira was rescheduled and eventually took place on February 20, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 185.[34] At the weigh-ins, Vieira weighed in at 138 pounds, two pounds over the women's bantamweight non-title fight limit. She was fined 20% of her purse which went to Santos and the bout proceeded at catchweight.[35][36] Santos won the fight via unanimous decision.[37]
Santos faced Irene Aldana on July 10, 2021, at UFC 264.[38] At the weigh-ins, Aldana weighed in at 139.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. Her bout proceeded at catchweight and Aldana was fined 30% of her purse, which went to Santos.[39] Santos lost the fight via technical knockout in round one.[40]
Santos faced former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm on March 25, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 43.[41] She lost the fight via unanimous decision.[42]
Santos was scheduled to face The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters women's featherweight winner Macy Chiasson on July 1, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 48[43] However, Chiasson pulled out two weeks after the fight announcement and was replaced by Karol Rosa in a featherweight bout.[44] Santos lost the fight via split decision.[45]
Santos was scheduled to face Norma Dumont on January 13, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 234.[46] However, Santos pulled out due to a broken nose.[47]
Santos is scheduled to face Chelsea Chandler on August 10, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 242.[48]
Santos is married to former UFC and current Professional Fighters League (PFL) fighter Thiago Santos.[49] She has a son from a previous relationship.[50] The pair got engaged in December 2020.[51] Santos announced on August 16, 2021, that the couple was expecting their first child together, leading to some fans speculating that Santos was pregnant during her fight against Irene Aldana, which had taken place just a month before, though Santos denied these claims, and female fighters in Nevada, where the fight took place, are administered pregnancy tests prior to each fight as part of the standard medical screening.[52]
| 23 matches | 14 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 7 | 3 |
| By submission | 1 | 2 |
| By decision | 6 | 3 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 14–8 (1) | Karol Rosa | Decision (split) | UFC on ESPN: Strickland vs. Magomedov | July 1, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Featherweight bout. |
| Loss | 14–7 (1) | Holly Holm | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen | March 25, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Loss | 14–6 (1) | Irene Aldana | TKO (punches) | UFC 264 | July 10, 2021 | 1 | 4:35 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (139.5 lb) bout; Aldana missed weight. |
| Win | 14–5 (1) | Ketlen Vieira | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis | February 20, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (138 lb) bout; Vieira missed weight. |
| Win | 13–5 (1) | Julija Stoliarenko | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik | August 8, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 12–5 (1) | Aspen Ladd | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik | December 7, 2019 | 3 | 0:33 | Washington, D.C., United States | |
| Win | 12–4 (1) | Marion Reneau | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos | March 9, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Wichita, Kansas, United States | |
| Win | 11–4 (1) | Lina Länsberg | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 229 | October 6, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Return to Bantamweight. |
| Loss | 10–4 (1) | Cris Cyborg | TKO (punches) | UFC 222 | March 3, 2018 | 1 | 3:25 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | For the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 10–3 (1) | Raquel Pa'aluhi | Decision (unanimous) | Invicta FC 25: Kunitskaya vs. Pa'aluhi | August 31, 2017 | 5 | 5:00 | Lemoore, California, United States | Won the vacant Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship. Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 9–3 (1) | Tonya Evinger | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Invicta FC 22: Evinger vs. Kunitskaya II | March 25, 2017 | 2 | 4:32 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | For the Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship. |
| NC | 9–2 (1) | Tonya Evinger | NC (overturned) | Invicta FC 20: Evinger vs. Kunitskaya | November 18, 2016 | 1 | 1:59 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | For the Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship. Originally a submission (armbar) win for Kunitskaya; overturned after Evinger appealed the loss due to a controversial referee call. Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 9–2 | Wu Yanan | TKO (punches) | Fightspirit Championship 6 | September 4, 2016 | 2 | 0:32 | St. Petersburg, Russia | Bantamweight debut. |
| Loss | 8–2 | Zaira Dyshekova | Submission (armbar) | ACB 32: Battle of Lions | March 26, 2016 | 1 | 3:38 | Moscow, Russia | Catchweight (137 lb) bout. Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 8–1 | Sylwia Kusiak | TKO (corner stoppage) | Baltic Arena | June 15, 2012 | 1 | 0:50 | Koszalin, Poland | |
| Win | 7–1 | Anna Melikhova | Decision (unanimous) | Lion's Fights 1: The Beginning | March 3, 2012 | 2 | 5:00 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Lightweight bout. |
| Win | 6–1 | Ekaterina Saraykina | TKO (punches) | Verdict Fighting Championship 1 | February 11, 2012 | 1 | 1:05 | Moscow, Russia | Featherweight bout. |
| Win | 5–1 | Arune Lauzeckaite | TKO (punches) | Bushido Lithuania: Hero's Lithuania 2011 | November 19, 2011 | 1 | 1:34 | Vilnius, Lithuania | |
| Win | 4–1 | Cindy Dandois | TKO (punches) | M-1 Challenge 22 | December 10, 2010 | 1 | 0:34 | Moscow, Russia | Featherweight bout. |
| Win | 3–1 | Kamila Bałanda | TKO (punches) | Bushido Lithuania: Hero's Lithuania 2010 | November 20, 2010 | 1 | 4:26 | Vilnius, Lithuania | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Maria Hougaard Djursaa | Decision (unanimous) | FG 14: Ice Cold | May 29, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Odense, Denmark | |
| Win | 2–0 | Vladena Yavorskaya | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Bushido FC Legends | November 28, 2009 | 1 | 3:20 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Featherweight bout. |
| Win | 1–0 | Magdalena Jarecka | TKO (punches) | K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 | May 23, 2009 | 1 | 1:38 | Łódź, Poland |
| No. | Event | Fight | Date | Venue | City | PPV Buys |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | UFC 222 | Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya | March 3, 2018 | T-Mobile Arena | Paradise, Nevada, United States | 260,000[54] |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 3rd Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion August 31, 2017 – February 7, 2018 |
Succeeded by |
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Updated to 21 May 2024 | ||||||
