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UFC Bantamweight

Karol Rosa VS Luana Santos

Meta Apex, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

Tale of the Tape

19-8-0 Record 12-2-0
31 Age 26
165 cm Height 168 cm
171 cm Reach 170 cm
orthodox Stance orthodox
32% Finish rate 50%
21% KO rate 8%
11% Sub rate 42%

Result Summary

Luana Santos def. Karol Rosa Decision · R3 5:00

In a clash of Brazilian bantamweights, Luana Santos put on an absolute grappling masterclass against the highly ranked veteran Karol Rosa. While Rosa defended well in the early going, Santos relentlessly pursued the takedown and finally grounded her late in the first round. Santos completely took over in rounds two and three, dragging Rosa to the mat early in both frames and maintaining heavy top pressure. Santos utilized highly effective ground-and-pound with slicing elbows, and even took Rosa's back in the final frame, dominating the grappling exchanges from start to finish to cruise to a lopsided unanimous decision victory.

Fight Overview

Karol Rosa and Luana Santos make this one of the more consequential women's bantamweight fights on the card — Rosa sits at number 8 in the rankings and Santos at 14, and both are Brazilian. Rosa at 19-7 is the veteran with an 8-4 UFC record and a workload-heavy striking style built for decisions; Santos at 10-2 is 25 years old, 5-1 in the UFC, and has gone 2-0 since moving up from strawweight, hunting a top-10 berth with the confidence of someone who feels the division suits her.

Keys to Victory

Karol Rosa

  1. Control the pace from the clinch and grind Santos down with takedowns and physical pressure over all three rounds.
  2. Use her volume striking and output to stay ahead on the scorecards and never give Santos a clean round.
  3. Lean on experience in tight moments and avoid letting the fight turn into a firefight where the younger Santos thrives.

Luana Santos

  1. Use her youth and speed advantage to outwork Rosa in the striking exchanges and land the cleaner shots.
  2. Avoid being held against the fence for extended stretches and force the referee to restart in the open.
  3. Win the third round decisively to overcome Rosa's durability and take two of three from the judges.

Last 5 fights

Karol Rosa

  1. W Nora Cornolle Decision · R3 5:00 · 2 AUG 2025
  2. L Ailín Pérez Decision · R3 5:00 · 18 JAN 2025
  3. W Pannie Kianzad Decision · R3 5:00 · 10 AUG 2024
  4. L Irene Aldana Decision · R3 5:00 · 16 DEC 2023
  5. W Yana Santos Decision · R3 5:00 · 1 JUL 2023

Luana Santos

  1. W Melissa Croden Decision · R3 5:00 · 13 DEC 2025
  2. W Tainara Lisboa Submission · R2 4:59 · 17 MAY 2025
  3. L Casey O'Neill Decision · R3 5:00 · 18 AUG 2024
  4. W Mariya Agapova Submission · R1 3:27 · 13 JUL 2024
  5. W Stephanie Egger Decision · R3 5:00 · 9 DEC 2023

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AI-generated This analysis was generated with AI and may contain errors.

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