Yana Santos ( Kunitskaya; born November 11, 1989) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist competing in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of April 16, 2024, she is #12 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings.

Biography

Yana Santos was born in 1989, in the city of

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of ...

, in northwestern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. 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

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

s. 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 team at

Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health The Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health is a university in St. Petersburg, Russia, named after Peter Lesgaft. History Its history started from 1896, when Peter Lesgaft founded a training program for PE t ...

, Department of Boxing. At age 18, she started practicing

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

(MMA). On August 9, 2012, Santos announced that she was pregnant with her first child. 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. She then signed a contract with the Invicta Fighting Championships (IFC or Invicta FC) in which only females compete.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Santos made her professional mixed-martial-arts debut on May 23, 2009, at a

K-1 World Grand Prix K-1 World Grand Prix, also known as the K-1 World GP, is an elimination kickboxing tournament that has been held annually since 1993 by the K-1 organization. Each year, K-1 holds various 16-men, 8-match grand prix style tournaments throughout the ...

event in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. She defeated Magdalena Jarecka by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

(TKO) in the first round. After winning two of her next three fights, Santos faced unbeaten prospect Cindy Dandois at M-1 Challenge XXII on December 10, 2010. She defeated Dandois by TKO in 34 seconds. On November 19, 2011, Santos faced Arune Lauzeckaite at Bushido Hero's: World Grand Prix

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, winning by TKO in the first round. In 2012, Santos faced Ekaterina Saraykina at Verdict Fighting Championship 1 on February 11, defeating Saraykina by TKO in the first round. In March, she faced Anna Melikhova at Lion's Fights 1 and won by unanimous decision after two rounds. She then defeated Sylwia Kusiak by TKO in round one at Baltic Arena in Koszalin, Poland, in June. Santos was scheduled to face Danielle West at Starlight Events: Gladiator World Cup 2012 on July 6 in Marbella,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, but the event was cancelled. Santos had fought almost exclusively in

, and built her record to 9 wins and 2 losses before signing to Invicta FC.

Invicta Fighting Championships

Yana defeated Tonya Evinger for the Invicta FC Bantamweight title on November 18, 2016. On December 1, the win was overturned to a

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal Trial (law), trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the def ...

, so Evinger retained her title. 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. Santos defeated Raquel Pa'aluhi at Invicta FC 25 on August 31, 2017, to win the vacant Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Santos made her

(UFC) promotional debut at UFC 222 on March 3, 2018, against

Cris Cyborg Cristiane Justino Venâncio (born July 9, 1985), known professionally by her ring name Cris Cyborg (and formerly by her married name Cristiane Santos), is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist who as of January 2021 competes in Bellator MMA, ...

for the featherweight title. She lost the fight by TKO in the first round. Santos next faced

Lina Länsberg Lina Länsberg (born 13 March 1982) is a Swedish professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 3, 2022, she is #12 in the List of current U ...

on October 6, 2018, at UFC 229. She won the fight via unanimous decision Santos then faced

Marion Reneau Marion Elizabeth Reneau-Perez (born June 20, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed as a Bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Reneau began her professional mixed martia ...

on March 9, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 146 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 146'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 4'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 9, 2019 at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, ...

. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Santos faced

Aspen Ladd Aspen Kohl Ladd (born March 1, 1995) is an American professional mixed martial artist who is competing in the Featherweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2015, Ladd started her professional mixed martial arts ...

on December 7, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN 7 ''UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik'' (also known as '' UFC on ESPN 7'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 7, 2019 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., United States. ...

. She lost the fight via technical knockout in round three. Santos was scheduled to face Ketlen Vieira on August 1, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Aldana. and on July 15, 2020, it was announced that the bout was moved to

UFC Fight Night 174 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 174'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 32'' and ''UFC Vegas 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 8, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in En ...

on August 8, 2020. Subsequently, Vieira was removed from the card on July 30 for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Julija Stoliarenko. She won the fight via unanimous decision. The bout with Ketlen Vieira was rescheduled and eventually took place on February 20, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 185 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 185'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 43'' and ''UFC Vegas 19'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 20, 2021 at the UFC ...

. 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. Santos won the fight via unanimous decision. Santos faced

Irene Aldana Irene Robles Aldana (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Women’s Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of May 23, 2022, she is #4 in the UFC women ...

on July 10, 2021, at

UFC 264 ''UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 10, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. 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. Santos lost the fight via technical knockout in round one. Santos faced former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm on March 25, 2023, at

UFC on ESPN 43 ''UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 43'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on March 25, 2023, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, United ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. 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 ''UFC on ESPN: Strickland vs. Magomedov'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 48'' and ''UFC Vegas 76'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 1, 2023, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterpr ...

However, Chiasson pulled out two weeks after the fight announcement and was replaced by

Karol Rosa Karolline Rosa Cavedo (born December 30, 1994) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional since 2012, she currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 3, 2022, she is #9 in t ...

in a featherweight bout. Santos lost the fight via split decision. Santos was scheduled to face

Norma Dumont Norma Dumont Viana Ferreira (born October 1, 1990) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist in the Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Profes ...

on January 13, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 234. However, Santos pulled out due to a broken nose. Santos is scheduled to face

Chelsea Chandler Chelsea Chandler (born January 29, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist and competes in Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2018, she has also previously competed for Invicta Fighting Champ ...

on August 10, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 242.

Personal life

Santos is married to former UFC and current Professional Fighters League (PFL) fighter

Thiago Santos Thiago Santos de Lima (born January 7, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), competing in the light heavyweight division. Prior to signing with the PFL, Santos competed for the Ult ...

. She has a son from a previous relationship. The pair got engaged in December 2020. 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

, 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.

Championships and accomplishments

* Invicta Fighting Championships ** Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion (One time) ** Performance of the Night (twice) vs. Tonya Evinger and

Raquel Pa'aluhi Raquel Pa'aluhi Canuto (born October 14, 1990) is an American Brazilian jiu-jitsu grappler and former mixed martial artist. Canuto was awarded her Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by her coach Robert Drysdale. Raquel is the 2014, 2015, 2016, 20 ...

* Other ** 2007 UKADO World Champion ** 2007 Russian Taekwondo Champion ** 2010 Bushido Women's MMA Champion ** 2011 Russian Muay Thai Champion

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–8 (1) ,

, Decision (split) , UFC on ESPN: Strickland vs. Magomedov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–7 (1) , Holly Holm , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–6 (1) ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:35 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 (1) , Ketlen Vieira , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5 (1) , Julija Stoliarenko , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 (1) ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:33 ,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 229 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 (1) ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC 222 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 25: Kunitskaya vs. Pa'aluhi , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 2 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 (1) , Tonya Evinger , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Invicta FC 22: Evinger vs. Kunitskaya II , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:32 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, United States , , - , , align=center, 9–2 (1) , Tonya Evinger , NC (overturned) , Invicta FC 20: Evinger vs. Kunitskaya , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Wu Yanan , TKO (punches) , Fightspirit Championship 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:32 , St. Petersburg, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Zaira Dyshekova , Submission (armbar) , ACB 32: Battle of Lions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:38 ,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Sylwia Kusiak , TKO (corner stoppage) , Baltic Arena , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 , Koszalin, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Anna Melikhova , Decision (unanimous) , Lion's Fights 1: The Beginning , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Ekaterina Saraykina , TKO (punches) , Verdict Fighting Championship 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:05 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Arune Lauzeckaite , TKO (punches) , Bushido Lithuania: Hero's Lithuania 2011 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:34 ,

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Cindy Dandois , TKO (punches) , M-1 Challenge 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:34 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Kamila Bałanda , TKO (punches) , Bushido Lithuania: Hero's Lithuania 2010 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:26 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Maria Hougaard Djursaa , Decision (unanimous) , FG 14: Ice Cold , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Odense, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Vladena Yavorskaya , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bushido FC Legends , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:20 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Magdalena Jarecka , TKO (punches) , K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:38 ,

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

, Poland , , -

Pay-per-view bouts

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Yana 1989 births Living people Russian female mixed martial artists Russian female kickboxers Russian female taekwondo practitioners Russian Muay Thai practitioners Female Muay Thai practitioners Bantamweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing ARB Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Gaidojutsu Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters Sportspeople from Murmansk