Thiago Santos congratulates fiancée Yana Kunitskaya on upset win at UFC Vegas 19

UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos congratulated his fiancée Yana Kunitskaya on her upset win over Ketlen Vieira at UFC Vegas 19.

Santos was in the corner of Kunitskaya as she defeated Vieira via unanimous decision in a fight that had somewhat controversial scorecards. Though it appeared that Vieira had done enough to control Kunitskaya on the mat from top position with her grappling that she would win the decision, the judges had other ideas. Instead, the three judges unanimously agreed that Kunitskaya had done enough to win the fight. Although Vieira had the takedowns and the control time on top, Kunitskaya was working the entire fight from the bottom, and she appeared to steal the fight in the final minute when she cut Vieira open.

Heavy shots in the last few seconds of RD 3️⃣!

Who will take the W? #UFCVegas19 pic.twitter.com/3TtEfOkigC

— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 2021

It was a very close fight and one that you could justify giving to either woman, but at the end of the 15 minutes, the judges sided with Kunitskaya as the victor. Given the amount of damage that she inflicted, the decision wasn’t as controversial as some said. Taking to his social media following the bout, Santos congratulated his fiancée on her big upset victory.

https://twitter.com/TMarretaMMA/status/1363549568261005315

Thiago Santos: Winning isn’t everything but wanting to win is. You did both things, I know how hard you have been working for this, you deserve, I’m so proud of you my love @YanaKunitskaya1 congratulations

With the win, Kunitskaya improved to a 4-2 record in the UFC. She has defeated Vieira, Lina Lansberg, Marion Reneau, and Julija Stoliarenko — all by decision — with TKO losses to Aspen Ladd and Cris Cyborg. As for Santos, he returns to the Octagon at UFC 259 next month when he takes on Aleksandar Rakic in a great fight, and you know that he will do everything he can to make sure that he has Kunitskaya in his corner for the fight.

What do you think is next for Yana Kunitskaya after defeating Ketlen Vieira at UFC Vegas 19?