Iana "Yana" Kunitskaya (born November 11, 1989) is a Russian

mixed martial artist 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, incorpo ...

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 MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

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 September 19, 2022, she is #6 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings.

Biography

Yana Kunitskaya 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 ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

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, Kunitskaya went to live and study in

St. 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 ...

, 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, Kunitskaya 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 Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

(IFC or Invicta FC) in which only females compete.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kunitskaya 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, Kunitskaya faced unbeaten prospect

Cindy Dandois Cindy Dandois (born 26 October 1984) is a Belgian female mixed martial artist. She formerly competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions in Invicta and the Ultimate Fighting Championship and also the Lightweight division in the Prof ...

at M-1 Challenge XXII on December 10, 2010. She defeated Dandois by TKO in 34 seconds. On November 19, 2011, Kunitskaya 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, Kunitskaya 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 Koszalin (pronounced ; csb, Kòszalëno; formerly german: Köslin, ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-sta ...

, Poland, in June. Kunitskaya was scheduled to face Danielle West at Starlight Events: Gladiator World Cup 2012 on July 6 in

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

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. Kunitskaya 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 Tonya Evinger (born June 4, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist. A professional mixed martial artist since 2006, Evinger has previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), EliteXC, Raging Wolf and Invicta Fighting Champi ...

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 trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...

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

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Kunitskaya made her

(UFC) promotional debut at

UFC 222 ''UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 3, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Background A ...

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 MM ...

for the featherweight title. She lost the fight by TKO in the first round. Kunitskaya next faced Lina Länsberg on October 6, 2018, at

UFC 229 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United St ...

. She won the fight via unanimous decision Kunitskaya 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. Kunitskaya 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. Kunitskaya was scheduled to face

Ketlen Vieira Ketlen Vieira da Silva (born August 26, 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 17, 2023, she is ranked #4 in the UFC women's bantam ...

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 ...

on August 8, 2020. Subsequently, Vieira was removed from the card on July 30 for undisclosed reasons and replaced by

Julija Stoliarenko Julija Stoliarenko (born 8 April 1993) is a Lithuanian mixed martial arts and Lethwei fighter. She currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Bantamweight division. A professional since 2012, she is the former Invicta FC Ban ...

. She won the fight via unanimous decision. The bout with

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 UF ...

. 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 Kunitskaya and the bout proceeded at catchweight. Kunitskaya won the fight via unanimous decision. Kunitskaya 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 Kunitskaya. Kunitskaya lost the fight via technical knockout in round one. Kunitskaya is scheduled to face former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion

Holly Holm Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, and a former professional boxer. She was a multiple-time wor ...

on March 25, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 43.

Personal life

Kunitskaya is in a relationship with fellow UFC athlete,

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, Adam, from a previous relationship. The pair got engaged in December 2020. Kunitskaya announced on August 16, 2021, that the couple was expecting their first child together, leading to some fans speculating that Kunitskaya was pregnant during her fight against

, which had taken place just a month before, though Kunitskaya 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 FC Bantamweight Champion (once) ** Performance of the Night (twice) vs.

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, ...

* 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, 14–6 (1) ,

, TKO (punches) ,

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

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 ...

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

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

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

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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 ...

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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 ...

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, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Anna Melikhova , Decision (unanimous) , Lion's Fights 1: The Beginning , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, 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 ,

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Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

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, 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 ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunitskaya, 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 People from Murmansk Sportspeople from Murmansk Oblast