UFC Fighter Yana Kunitskaya Announces Pregnancy With Thiago Santos
Yana Kunitskaya is taking a break from the octagon.
On Sunday, Kunitskaya (14-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) announced on social media that she’s pregnant and doesn’t plan on fighting again until 2022.
The 31-year-old fighter is engaged to UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago “Marreta” Santos, who commented on the post.
Kunitskaya, a UFC women’s bantamweight contender, is currently ranked as No. 7 in USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie’s women’s bantamweight rankings.
She fought most recently at UFC 264 in July, but lost via first-round TKO to No. 5 ranked Irene Aldana. Prior to the loss, she won four of her five fights, including back-to-back wins over Ketlen Viera and Julija Stoliarenko.
The Russian fighter initially debuted in the UFC women’s featherweight division in 2018, but moved down to bantamweight.
Earlier this year, Kunitskaya and Santos played an April Fools’ joke with a fake pregnancy, but sources said this time it’s true.
Meanwhile, Santos (21-9) will return in the main event of UFC’s Fight Night card on October 2 against Brazilian light heavyweight Johnny Walker.