Luana Santos got her octagon tenure off to a promising start on Saturday when she put away Juliana Miller inside the first round at UFC on ESPN 51.
After Miller (3-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) came out of the gate with some serious aggression and pressure, Santos (6-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) showed composure in waiting for her time to land a big shot.
That changed the momentum of the women’s flyweight bout, because Miller was hurt and could only cover up as Santos poured on the punches until referee Jason Herzog had seen enough and waved it off at the 3:41 mark of Round 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check out a replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
Now that’s how you open a show! 🤩@LuanaSantosMMA1 | #UFCVegas78 pic.twitter.com/5iBG5xWGJs
— UFC (@ufc) August 12, 2023
After the fight, an ecstatic Santos called for UFC president Dana White to pay her a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. She also put the rest of the 125-pound division on notice.
“I’ve always been known as Luana the judo girl, but I knew I could bring something,” Santos told Daniel Cormier through an interpreter in her post-fight interview. “I brought the striking. To the girls in the division, it’s not just Luana the judo girl.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.
