Not long after Luana Santos made short work of Mariya Agapova in July, she agreed to face Casey O’Neill on three weeks’ notice at UFC 305, which goes down this weekend in Perth.
The Brazilian travels to Australia knowing she’s about to compete in enemy territory.
O’Neill was born and raised in Scotland but moved to Queensland when she was 10 years old. Though she’s lived in Oceania ever since and is 4-0 as a professional MMA fighter when competing in Australian soil, O’Neill will experience what’s like to have the home field advantage for the first time since joining the UFC in 2021. But Santos is ready.
“She represents Australia so the crowd definitely won’t be on my side,” Santos told MMA Fighting. “I’m ready for that. They will be on her side. [I want to finish her] so I don’t leave anything to chance.”
Santos is unbeaten under the UFC banner, sandwiching a decision over Stephanie Egger between finishes of Agapova and Juliana Miller. She looks at every other sport where a judge can decide the winner as instructive on why she needs to get the job done early.
“We just saw at the Olympics that we have to be careful with the judges at all times,” Santos said. “It’s inevitable, right? We want to win by knockout or submission, but sometimes it doesn’t happen, and it’s hard to leave in the hands of the judges. In all sports, really.”
Alexa Grasso, who currently reigns at Santos’ weight class, faces Valentina Shevchenko in a flyweight trilogy at UFC 306 after battling to a draw last time around, and Santos agrees that “Bullet” should be concerned about facing the Mexican star at UFC 306, a Mexican-themed pay-per-view on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas.
“I agree with her fear,” Santos said. “It’s her life and career on the line. I think she should have had the chance to pick the date now since she fought on Mexican Independence Day last time, but it’s part of the game. There are things we can’t control, right? I think Valentina won that last fight and they scored it a draw because of the whole Mexico thing. Alexa is tough and is proven she deserves to be there, but I think Valentina wins this time. I think she will win more clearly now to show the judges what they didn’t see last time.”
For now, Santos is thrilled to face a ranked opponent in O’Neill. The 24-year-old talent sees herself sitting in the top 15 with a finish Saturday, and even has a name in mind for a post-fight callout, hoping for a December return to end the year on a six-fight winning streak.
But remains focused on the task ahead.
“She’s coming off two losses so I think she has a ton of pressure over her, and that definitely favors me,” Santos said of O’Neill. “She’s a good fighter everywhere. She walks forward on the feet, her jiu-jitsu is very versatile, but is different from my grappling. My grappling is more judo style, more pressure, and hers is more loose. It’s going to be interesting if the fight goes to the ground.”
“But the fight starts on the feet and she has flaws there, and I will work on her flaws, both on the ground and on the feet,” she continued. “I have three weeks to study her game and work on what will be good for me, and I’m ready. I’ve done everything I had to do to come out victorious, no doubt about it.”
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