Luana do Valle Lopes Gonzalez Santos (born 16 April 2000) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the women's bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 26 September 2026, she is #4 in the Meta UFC women's bantamweight rankings.
Early life Santos was born on 16 April 2000, and grew up in São Paulo, Brazil. She began competing in judo at age eight, following after her father who also competed in the sport. Santos grew up a fan of Ronda Rousey and has been nicknamed the "Brazilian Ronda" based on her judo background and similar fighting style. As a judoka, she made the national team and won a Continental Cup gold medal at the 2017 Cadet European Cup. Santos participated in several international tournaments, including in Croatia and Germany. At age 18, she became a black belt.
Mixed martial arts career Early career Santos became a mixed martial artist by chance. She has explained that "I was watching a UFC event at a friend's house and her father was there with a friend ... I joked that I would do that one day, and her father's friend asked if it was for real. I said I'd do it, but never imagined it would go beyond that." She was invited to train at the 011 MMA gym in São Paulo by the friend, who knew the team's owner. "I did one MMA training and never stopped since", she said.
Santos competed in her first MMA fight on the amateur level on 27 April 2019, under the SFT promotion, and won against Karine Cristine by unanimous decision.
Santos won two more amateur bouts, one by technical knockout (TKO) and one by decision, before winning her first professional fight on 15 July 2021, by submission against Marjorie Barragan.
Santos defeated Djulia Ariana by unanimous decision on 18 December 2021, and then Beatriz Ferreira by submission on 30 April 2022.
Afterwards, Santos was signed by the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA), competing as a flyweight. In her first fight under the LFA promotion, she lost by split decision to Jena Bishop on 8 July 2022, the first loss of her career. Santos later defeated Waleska Sousa on 4 November 2022, by unanimous decision, and Bartira Rodrigues on 10 March 2023, by technical submission.
Ultimate Fighting Championship In June 2023, it was reported that Santos signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Santos faced Juliana Miller on 12 August 2023, at UFC on ESPN 51. She won the fight via a first-round knockout, the first knockout of her professional career.
Santos faced Stephanie Egger in a bantamweight bout on 9 December 2023, at UFC Fight Night 233. At the weigh-ins, Santos weighed in at 139 pounds, three pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. Her bout proceeded at catchweight with Santos being fined 20% of her purse which went to Egger. Santos won the fight by unanimous decision.
Santos faced Mariya Agapova on 13 July 2024, at UFC on ESPN 59. She won the fight by a rear-naked choke in the first round.
Replacing Tereza Bledá, Santos faced Casey O'Neill on 17 August 2024, at UFC 305. She lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Moving up to bantamweight, Santos faced Tainara Lisboa on 17 May 2025, at UFC Fight Night 256. She won the fight via a keylock in the second round.
Santos was scheduled to face Darya Zheleznyakova on 8 November 2025, at UFC Fight Night 264. However, Zheleznyakova withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Melissa Croden. In turn, the bout was moved to UFC on ESPN 73 on 13 December 2025. She won the fight by unanimous decision.
Santos faced Karol Rosa on 20 June 2026, at UFC Fight Night 279. She won the fight by unanimous decision.
Santos is scheduled to face Yana Santos on 31 October 2026, at UFC Fight Night 292.
Mixed martial arts record
|Win |align=center|11–2 |Karol Rosa |Decision (unanimous) |UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Horiguchi | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|Win |align=center|10–2 |Melissa Croden |Decision (unanimous) |UFC on ESPN: Royval vs. Kape | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|Win |align=center|9–2 |Tainara Lisboa |Submission (keylock) |UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales | |align=center|2 |align=center|4:59 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|Loss |align=center|8–2 |Casey O'Neill |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 305 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Perth, Australia
|Win |align=center|8–1 |Mariya Agapova |Submission (rear-naked choke) |UFC on ESPN: Namajunas vs. Cortez | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:27 |Denver, Colorado, United States
|Win |align=center|7–1 |Stephanie Egger |Decision (unanimous) |UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutiérrez | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|Win |align=center|6–1 |Juliana Miller |TKO (punches) |UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:41 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|Win |align=center|5–1 |Bartira Rodrigues |Technical Submission (guillotine choke) |LFA 154 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:05 |Cajamar, Brazil
|Win |align=center|4–1 |Waleska Sousa |Decision (unanimous) |LFA 146 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Cajamar, Brazil
|Loss |align=center|3–1 |Jena Bishop |Decision (split) |LFA 135 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Phoenix, Arizona, United States
|Win |align=center|3–0 |Beatriz Ferreira |Submission (keylock) |Standout Fighting Tournament 34 | |align=center|3 |align=center|0:26 |São Paulo, Brazil
|Win |align=center|2–0 |Djulia Ariana |Decision (unanimous) |Standout Fighting Tournament 32 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |São Paulo, Brazil
|Win |align=center|1–0 |Marjorie Barragan |Submission (scarf hold armlock) |Standout Fighting Tournament 27 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:19 |São Paulo, Brazil |
See also List of current UFC fighters List of female mixed martial artists
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