Gigi Canuto will make her UFC debut against Carol Foro on 8/8/26, a first-step promotion built on a 7-1 pro run under LFA and a semifinal finish on The ultimate fighter. For Canuto, this is the jump from a résumé that already includes Jiu Jitsu and MMA into the sport’s biggest stage.
UFC Fight Night on 8/8/26
The 8/8/26 booking gives Canuto a clear entry point into UFC Fight Night, with Carol Foro standing across from her in the debut slot. She said, “It means the world to me, I told my dad I was gonna be a ufc champion when I was little and to think that I’m finally starting my ufc career this weekend is unreal!”
That quote is the cleanest measure of what this debut represents: not a showcase, but the start of an actual UFC run after years spent building toward it. Canuto’s route to this moment is unusually direct for a newcomer, because she moved from LFA into this booking without the long public ramp-up that often surrounds a first UFC appearance.
LFA and The ultimate fighter
Her last fight in LFA came against Janaína Silva, a 3-round bout in which she said she had to adapt through a really bad camp and then keep adjusting during the fight. She said that stretch let her show striking, wrestling and grappling in one outing, which matters here because the UFC debut comes against a fresh opponent rather than a repeat of that longer, more demanding pacing.
Canuto also said she was a semifinalist on The ultimate fighter, and that she reached the UFC after deciding to take on MMA when Jiu Jitsu tournaments were cancelled during covid. She said she was in Las Vegas for Jiu Jitsu, was helping MMA fighters with grappling like Claudia Gadelha and Valentina Shevchenko, and then went pro after Pavel told her she should skip amateur fights and go straight in. The path is unusual, but the résumé behind it is concrete.
Jiu Jitsu and MMA
Canuto said she is a black belt in Jiu Jitsu, and that base explains why her pro record and tournament progression read like a fighter who can work in more than one phase. She beat Anita Karim by strikes at 0:25 of the first round, then was stopped by Melissa Amaya via strikes in the 2nd round in the semifinals, results that show both the speed of her offense and the pressure of finishing at the higher level.
She also said she wants to use her platform to create more than just fighting content and to show people from Manaus how good life can get if they put in the work, make good decisions, and follow the truth. That framing fits the debut: this is not just a first UFC appearance, it is the point where her record, her Jiu Jitsu base and her willingness to adapt all have to hold up on the same night. How she handles Carol Foro will tell the UFC whether her first step can become the next one.
