Luana Santos moved up two places to No. 5 in ESPN’s women’s bantamweight rankings after defeating Yana Santos by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night. Yana Santos fell one spot to No. 6 in the same update. The result strengthens Luana Santos’ position among the division’s leading contenders. The ranking movement comes as the title picture develops around champion Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes’ announced return. No other change was reported in ESPN’s latest divisional rankings.
Luana Santos has climbed two places to No. 5 in ESPN's women's bantamweight rankings, the outlet's latest update shows, following her unanimous-decision win over Yana Santos at UFC Fight Night on October 31. Yana Santos slipped one spot to No. 6. ESPN reported no other changes to the divisional list.
The 26-year-old Brazilian improved to 12-2 with the victory, her third straight decision win in recorded fights. Before beating Yana Santos, she outpointed Karol Rosa in June 2026 and Melissa Croden in December 2025. Her statistical profile leans on grappling: she averages 2.14 takedowns per 15 minutes and 1.0 submission attempts per 15 minutes, while landing 2.53 significant strikes per minute at 53 percent accuracy.
Yana Santos, a 36-year-old Russian fighter who trains with American Top Team, drops to 17-9. The loss ended a run of two straight unanimous-decision wins, over Macy Chiasson in October 2025 and Miesha Tate in May 2025. She is the more prolific striker on paper, landing 4.41 significant strikes per minute at 57 percent accuracy, against Luana's 2.53 at 53. The two are listed at the same height, five-foot-six, though Yana holds a two-inch reach edge at 68 inches to Luana's 67. Luana is also ten years younger.
The ranking shift lands as the division's top end takes shape around champion Kayla Harrison and the announced return of Amanda Nunes. Nunes, 38, is 23-5 and last appears in our records with a unanimous-decision title defense against Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023.
Why it matters
- Luana Santos now sits inside the top five, a position that puts her in range of the division's leading contenders.
- The win was a head-to-head result, and it is the only meeting between the two on record, so the rankings swap carries direct competitive weight.
- The numbers show a clear style contrast: Luana's takedown and submission output against Yana's higher striking volume and accuracy.
With Harrison holding the belt and Nunes preparing a comeback, contenders such as Luana Santos are climbing into a division whose title picture is still developing.
