Out of action since September 2022, Mariya Agapova returned to action at UFC Denver, paired up with Luana Santos in a women’s flyweight fight.
Santos, winner of her first two UFC outings, was a sizeable favorite in the fight.
Early on in the bout, a right hand connected for Santos, rocking the returning Agapova! A moment later, Santos landed a throw, landing in top position. Santos found her way to mount, setting up an arm-triangle choke. She tried to step over, with Agapova defending as well she could. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do much more than survive. Which she did, but when Agapova briefly got to her knees, she gave up the back.
Santos, seeing the opportunity, pounced. She took the back, and slid the arm under the neck, pulling Agapova back on top of her. Hooks in, under the neck, Agapova was forced to tap, doing so with both hands to catch the ref’s attention. That was all she wrote, with Luana Santos coming away from Denver with her third win inside the UFC, and fifth straight overall.
The Brazilian has not lost a fight since losing to Bellator and now PFL fighter Jena Bishop under the LFA banner in 2022.
Official Result: Luana Santos def. Mariya Agapova by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 3:27
