Athletes
Yana Santos Balances Motherhood And Fighting
Bantamweight Yana Santos Returns To The Octagon To Challenge Former Teammate Holly Holm At UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen
Back in July 2021, UFC bantamweight Yana Santos faced Irene Aldana on the main card of UFC 264: Poirier vs McGregor 3.
In Santos’ toughest test to date, the bout quickly took a turn for the worst in their first few exchanges. With only one minute gone in the opening round, Santos’ nose was broken by one of Aldana’s strikes and began bleeding, disrupting Santos’ breathing. Despite the Russian landing the more significant strikes early in the round, Aldana started to take over, eventually earning a TKO victory with under 30 seconds left in the first.
Full San Antonio Fight Card Breakdown
The loss was difficult to swallow. Santos felt like she had the tools and game plan to get the job done that night, but fell short due to unforeseen circumstances. She didn’t hang her head, though, when she walked into the gym just a few days later. Santos was more motivated than ever to compete and get back in the win column.
“It was a long time ago,” Santos said. “I don’t want to find any excuse. I felt great, I had a great camp but unfortunately, I lost and I broke my nose. I think it made a big change in the fight because the first few punches broke my nose [so] it was hard to breathe. I came back to the gym, I trained hard, and I changed a lot of my camp so I think this fight will be so different.”
San Antonio Fighters On The Rise
Santos’ willingness to get back in the Octagon for a quick turnaround had to be put on hold, as she and her husband, former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos, announced they were expecting their first child shortly after her fight with Aldana.
Those next nine months, however, Santos never took her foot off the gas, training as best she could to make her return to full-time fighting as seamless as possible. In April 2022, Santos gave birth to her second child, Alise, and continued balancing motherhood and her career.
“Because I lost my last fight, it was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to come back after having my baby,” Santos said. “I had a talk with my husband and all I said was, ‘I feel like I’m losing it,’ because last fight was not good for me, and it motivated me so much to come back as fast as possible.”
“I found balance. I’m always focused on my family but, at the same time, I keep training. I was training all my pregnancy until the last day and, as soon as possible, I came back to the gym. I’m so lucky that I have an amazing husband.”
Now able to train at 100 percent, Santos waited for the perfect opportunity to come back to competition. For months, Santos waited patiently while the top contenders in the bantamweight division sorted out their positions in the rankings until a call finally came through about a potential fight against a former teammate in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen. The former teammate? Former UFC bantamweight champion and No. 3 ranked contender Holly Holm. Santos accepted immediately.
During their stint as teammates, Holm was coming off multiple UFC title shots while Santos was just joining the promotion. Six years later, now training with separate teams, the No. 6 ranked contender caught up to Holm’s position in the division and has an opportunity to prove herself against a UFC legend.
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“I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to do this,” Santos said. “I have the opportunity to do what I really love at a high level. The UFC always gives me tough opponents high in the rankings, big names. I’m so grateful for this and it makes me so excited that I feel like I’m living my best life. I can enjoy motherhood and enjoy my career. To do both things is just amazing.
“I think it’s a great matchup. We had a lot of sparring sessions, so I know that we can fight hard back-and-forth, and it makes me so excited because it really can be a nice, fun fight.”
Despite sparring with one another, both athletes believe they’ve evolved so much since those rounds in the gym that their skill sets should be unrecognizable. For this fight, Santos worked extensively on building a perfect game plan, fighting smart and knowing when to capitalize on any of Holm’s miscues.
CO-MAIN CHATS: Yana Santos | Holly Holm
“We helped each other prepare for fights,” Santos said. “She helped me a lot, but it was five or six years ago, and I changed completely. I’m a completely different fighter; I don’t think she’ll [recognize my skill] now. We prepared a lot, especially for her to have answers for everything, so I don’t think this is going to make any difference [in the fight].”
UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen took place live from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on March 25, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
