LAS VEGAS – Luana Santos beat Juliana Miller with a first-round TKO Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 51 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Santos, a judo expert who picked up a win in her highly anticipated UFC debut.
Juliana Miller vs. Luana Santos
Result: Luana Santos def. Juliana Miller via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:41
Updated records: Santos (6-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Miller (3-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
Key stats: Santos outstruck Miller 64-25 in an often wild slugfest before she put her away.
Santos on the fight's key moment
“I said exactly that this week. I said, ‘Man, I’ve never won a knockout in my life. That’s missing. Imagine debuting (in the UFC and) winning with one?. What if it wouldn’t it be great to actually do this? I’m very happy. I trained a lot for this.”
Now that’s how you open a show! 🤩@LuanaSantosMMA1 | #UFCVegas78 pic.twitter.com/5iBG5xWGJs
— UFC (@ufc) August 12, 2023
Santos on Ronda Rousey
“I’ve always been Ronda’s No. 1 fan. I’ve always looked up to her. I’ve always admired her, her career journey and her path from judo. I actually followed her career back from judo all the way into MMA, and always as a source of inspiration. I’ve always wanted to do what she did, and everything she did for judo athletes and also for women’s MMA. In the events in Brazil, they used to call me the ‘Brazilian Ronda.’ So she’s always been a source of inspiration and she’s still a source of inspiration. I’m always going to look up to her.”
WELCOME TO THE UFC, @LUANASANTOSMMA1!!!!!! #UFCVegas78 pic.twitter.com/FU7sPadq7N
— UFC (@ufc) August 12, 2023
Santos on what she wants next
“I’ve always brought in a crowd, and I think I can bring double if I’m in the UFC in Sao Paulo. But if I’m not able to fight in Sao Paulo, I think I would like to fight before December.”
To hear more from Santos, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.
