Change Afoot for Luana Santos

Luana Santos still has plenty of time to maximize her youth, and she has begun to take the necessary steps to do so.

The 25-year-old Brazilian prospect will test the waters of the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division when she moves up from the 125-pound weight class to challenge Tainara Lisboa as part of the UFC Fight Night 256 undercard this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Santos enters the cage with wins in five of her past six outings. However, she finds herself on the rebound following a unanimous decision defeat to Casey O’Neill at UFC 305 in August.

“My last fight doesn’t represent me,” Santos told Sherdog.com. “Those who know me understand I wasn’t myself. I was notified of my booking at the last minute. I accepted the offer immediately. I didn’t consider flight times [to Australia] or time zone differences. I simply accepted because it was with someone in the rankings against whom I expected my game to work well.”

It was a live-and-learn lesson for the Allan Begosso protégé. In the months since her loss to O’Neill, Santos has shifted her training camp to the well-respected Syndicate MMA outfit in Las Vegas.

“Without a doubt, this was a great change,” she said. “I’m always looking for ways to improve and evolve. The level in the UFC is very high. I’m still young. I have a lot yet to learn, and my body will still last a long time.”

Lisboa figures to push Santos at every turn. “Thai Panther” steps back into the spotlight on the strength of five consecutive victories, four of them finishes. However, Lisboa, 34, has not competed since she took a three-round unanimous decision from Ravena Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 230 nearly 600 days ago on Oct. 14, 2023.

“She’s tough,” Santos said. “She’s almost 10 years older than me. Her experience is undeniable. I don’t expect it will be an easy fight. It’s a great matchup. She hasn’t been fighting because of an injury. There’s always pressure after an idle period. I fought some eight months ago, so that could make a difference, but no one should measure me based on my last fight. Tainara has good striking and so do I. Her two losses were to fighters who grappled her on the mat and against the cage. I think it’s one of her possible weak points. She has good muay thai striking, but this is MMA. I see myself as the winner in this fight.”

It serves as something of a trial run for Santos in a new weight class.

“I’m not sure if I’ll remain at 135 pounds,” she said. “Probably yes, but it all depends on how the fight plays out. With a win, I’ll want to fight at 135 at least one more time this year. It doesn’t even have to be against a ranked opponent. It will determine my future. I’m only 25, and I’m sure that in a few years I won’t be able to cut down to 125 pounds anymore.”