was introduced to judo at the age of 8, no one could have known where it would lead. “My father signed me up,” she told Sherdog.com. “He wanted me to be in sports. He signed me and my brother up for judo since he had taken it as a child. I practiced from 8 until age 18. That’s when I earned my black belt.” From there, a series of fortunate events led Santos down an unlikely career path.“I decided to migrate to MMA after watching a UFC card at a friend’s home in 2017,” she said.
Soon after, Santos was taken to meet Helios Nogues Moyano—owner of the 011 MMA Team in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Her life was never the same. “I had one training session, and I haven’t stopped,” Santos said. “I fell in love with the MMA world.”