Gigi Canuto vs. Carol Foro
UFC Fight Night · August 8, 2026 · Meta Apex · Prelims 5:00 PM ET
The brief
- What kind of fight
- Striker vs. Grappler
- Finish likelihood
- High
- The line
- Canuto +230 · Foro —DraftKings
- The stakes
- Women's Strawweight · Prelims
The read
Both women arrive with real finishing instincts, so a decision would be the mild surprise here.
Foro's path is straightforward: keep it standing behind her karate/kickboxing background and let her power and volume do the work. Canuto's path is harder: survive the early exchanges, close the distance, and hunt the kind of scramble that nearly finished Amaya on TUF.
The short-notice turnaround is a real wild card for Canuto, but on paper this reads as a live, finish-heavy scrap between two fighters both making their first walk to the Octagon.
The matchup
This late add, booked on roughly four days' notice, pits two Brazilian UFC newcomers with opposite blueprints.
Canuto is a 10th Planet-trained submission hunter who has finished five of her seven wins on the mat, coming off a tough TKO loss in the TUF 34 semifinal just days before this booking. Foro is the more traditional power striker, a six-time knockout artist who dropped Contender Series foe Shanelle Dyer repeatedly en route to her contract.
The question is whether Canuto can find a takedown or scramble before Foro's hands find the range, and whether a four-day turnaround after a televised loss leaves her sharp enough to do it.
Tale of the tape
| 7-1 | Record | 9-1 |
| 23 | Age | 29 |
| 5'2" | Height | 5'2" |
| 64" | Reach | 62" |
| — | Stance | Orthodox |
| Brazil | Country | Brazil |
| 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Las Vegas | Team | RPlay Thai |
The numbers
Career UFC averages. Red bar = statistical edge.
The fighters
Gigi Canuto 7-1
“Diamond”
Gigi Canuto turned pro at 18 fresh off a BJJ black belt and ran up a 7-1 record on the LFA regional circuit, five of those wins by submission. Her only pro loss was a unanimous decision to judo bronze medalist Natasha Kuziutina in a 2023 LFA interim-title fight. A Manaus native training out of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Las Vegas, Canuto entered The Ultimate Fighter Season 34 as a tournament favorite, stopped Anita Karim in the quarterfinal, then was stopped herself by Melissa Amaya in the semifinal after a calf kick opened the door for ground elbows. She's 23 and makes her short-notice UFC debut here, just four days after that semifinal aired.
- LMelissa Amaya · TKO (calf kick and elbows)The Ultimate Fighter 34 (semifinal) · August 4, 2026
- WAnita Karim · TKO (kicks and punches)The Ultimate Fighter 34 (quarterfinal) · April 21, 2026
- WJanaina Silva · Submission (rear-naked choke)LFA 224 · January 16, 2026
Carol Foro 9-1
“Anabelle”
Carol Foro built her 9-1 record on power, with six of her nine wins coming by knockout, training out of RPlay Thai in Brasilia behind a karate, kickboxing and boxing base. Her only loss was a split decision to Beatriz Consuli at LFA 175 in January 2024. Foro punched her UFC ticket on Dana White's Contender Series in September 2025, dropping Shanelle Dyer multiple times en route to a unanimous decision that earned her a contract despite not ending in a finish. At 29, she's the more tenured and more decorated striker of this newcomer pairing and steps in as the betting favorite for her own short-notice promotional debut.
- WShanelle Dyer · Decision (unanimous)Dana White's Contender Series 2025 · September 9, 2025
- WSofia Esquer · KO/TKOJungle Fight 135 · March 22, 2025
- WZulfiya Kurbashova · KO/TKOUAE Warriors 57 · January 17, 2025