Every fighter reaching one of their goals in front of the world has an element of love to it—love of competition, love of the sport—but Mairon Santos winning The Ultimate Fighter in Las Vegas is a different kind of tale. It all began in Duque De Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the home Santos loved, but had to leave to chase his dreams of becoming a UFC fighter.
In 2021, after winning his first 12 pro fights, Santos' career had stalled. He had once dreamed of being a soccer star, but a foot injury at age 12 ended those hopes. Even after a year-and-a-half of trying to recover, it wasn’t meant to be.
“I was still trying to play soccer, but every time that I would put the shoes on, my big toe would bleed, and I wouldn't be able to kick,” he recalled. “With the injury that I had at the time, not even the best shoes would've helped me.”
But then Anderson Silva, the legendary "Spider," didn’t need shoes to create his magic in the octagon. When young Mairon saw Silva come from behind to defeat Chael Sonnen in their classic first bout, he found a new calling.
“I was a big fan already of MMA,” he said. “I watched Anderson and Chael Sonnen’s first fight, and I was like, ‘Whoa, what is that? How can this guy win after getting beat for five rounds? That's crazy.’ So I said, ‘Okay, I want to do something where I can use my hands,’ and my friend invited me to my first class.”
Santos proved to be a natural—skilled with both his hands and feet—and by 2019, he was a professional fighter trying to make a name for himself in Brazil. But before his career took off, he met Yasmim Bonfim.
Yasmim was just 14; Santos was 16, and they quickly formed a bond. However, to reach the top in the fight business, Santos had to leave Brazil, and in 2021, he moved to Las Vegas. By then, the couple had been married for nearly two years, but Yasmim wasn’t going to hold her husband back. Neither was his biggest fan—his mom, who raised Santos on her own and never missed one of his fights in Brazil.
“She’s a single mom,” he said. “She lives alone, and that was the biggest adjustment for me, for sure. Also, when I came to the U.S., I came alone. My wife was still in Brazil. So being away from her and my mom was very tough, and I think that was the biggest sacrifice for me.”
Santos’ unbeaten record of 12-0 turned into 12-1 after a loss to future UFC fighter Dan Argueta in February 2022. A year later, he won a decision over Rafael Barbosa, and then his life changed when he got called to compete on season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter. Yasmim had already moved to Vegas a few months earlier, and now all Santos had to do was win.
So that’s exactly what he did.
As the seventh featherweight pick for Team Grasso, Santos won his two bouts in the house over Edwin Cooper Jr. and Guillermo Torres. Last weekend, he knocked out Kaan Ofli in the second round to become The Ultimate Fighter winner and a UFC fighter.
“It’s good to hear that,” Santos laughed, days after the most important win of his career. Now, everything’s on the table for the 24-year-old and his wife. As the couple awaits the birth of their first child in February, Santos is already thinking about life as a father and the lessons he will teach his child about hard work and perseverance.
“I think the lesson would be, don’t you ever give up,” he said. “Life’s not easy, but if you trust yourself and if you surround yourself with good people, you can make it. And I will always be here to support you, so let’s go together. I couldn’t do a lot of things without a lot of people helping me. I made a lot of sacrifices, but I’ll be here for you, so never give up. Trust yourself and keep going.”
Santos kept going, and even when he had his doubts, Yasmim never did.
“I think she believed it more than me because after the fight she was like, ‘I knew it, I knew it. I always knew that you were going to make it,’” said Santos. “So I think she was more confident than I was. She was just like me, crying, screaming, and it was so good because it’s been a long road for her, too. I always said to her, ‘One day, I’m going to be in the UFC,’ and she said, ‘Yes, I believe in you.’ And she would always support me when I needed her to help with my diet, or if I was too tired, she would do everything. So it’s her victory, too.”