UFC Vegas 78 video: Luana Santos scores vicious standing knockout over TUF 30 winner Juliana Miller
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Luana Santos was best known as a judoka ahead of her debut at UFC Vegas 78 but the Brazilian showed she also has heavy hands after scoring a first-round knockout over former Ultimate Fighter winner Juliana Miller.
It was a fast-paced start from the second the action got started with Miller looking to close the distance and Santos winging punches back at her. A stiff overhand right rattled Miller during one of the wild exchanges and from there she was stuck in survival mode with Santos coming for the kill.
Again and again, Santos just blasted away with punches, although Miller was still trying to fire back while leaning against the cage for support. Eventually, Miller could no longer weather the storm as she just covered up with Santos teeing off with punches in succession.
SANTOS WAS RUTHLESS #UFCVEGAS78 pic.twitter.com/mUfjyVAqg7
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 12, 2023
That was enough for referee Jason Herzog to rescue Miller from further harm as Santos celebrated her first win in the UFC. The official stoppage came at 3:41 in the first round.
“I’m so happy,” Santos said afterwards. “It was such a dream of mine to be in the UFC and get a win. So happy. I worked my mind so much to be here. I knew the magnitude of this event. I was able to do it.”
While Santos did manage to reverse some takedown attempts from Miller, she really didn’t even have to put her judo into action, which then allowed her to display her hands instead.
It was an impressive showing for her debut as Santos moves to 6-1 overall with the win while Miller fell to 3-3 with her second straight loss since winning the reality show back in 2022.