Shaheen Santana Record: 8-3-0

Testing the elite

Santana's unbeaten start earned him a spot on Dana White's Contender Series in November 2020, where he ran into the rising Natan Levy. Levy got the better of the exchanges and finished Santana with a third-round arm-triangle choke – the first loss of his career and a reminder of how thin the margins are at that level. A second setback followed in October 2021, a decision loss to Jair Pérez under the Combate Global banner, leaving Santana to regroup against tougher, more seasoned opposition than he had faced on the regional circuit.

The bounce-back wins

Santana answered the adversity with the best win of his career. In October 2022 he submitted the experienced 13-4-1 Alejandro Martinez with a third-round rear-naked choke at Combate Global, proving his grappling could close the show against a proven veteran. A controversial first-round loss to Tommy Garcia followed in December 2023 – stopped by punches to the back of the head – but Santana rebounded again in April 2024, outpointing the 6-1 prospect Isaac Thomson by decision at LFA 181 to get back in the win column.

Fighting style

Santana is a submission hunter through and through. Six of his eight wins have come by tap-out – armbars, guillotines and rear-naked chokes all feature – for a 75% finish rate, and notably he has never won or lost by knockout, underscoring how thoroughly his game lives on the mat. His length helps him lock up chokes and control scrambles, and his black belt shows in the variety of his finishes. The honest knock is on his striking: his losses have come when opponents kept the fight standing or out-pointed him over three rounds, and his lone stoppage defeats came from a superior grappler and a strike-heavy finish rather than from his own ground game failing him.

Career highlights

• 6-0 to start his career — opened with six straight wins, most by submission, on the Florida regional scene.
• Contender Series appearance — earned a spot on Dana White's audition show against rising contender Natan Levy.
• Submission of Alejandro Martinez — tapped a seasoned 13-4-1 veteran with a third-round rear-naked choke, the signature win of his career.