Hector Santiago Makes UFC Debut in Shanghai, Chasing an Old Friend's Path

Hector Santiago walks into the octagon for the first time Saturday in Shanghai against Road to UFC winner Lawrence Lui, capping a fast climb that saw him go 6-1 across just two years of professional MMA. The 33-year-old bantamweight only started fighting MMA in 2024, and the UFC came calling after a violent first-round knockout at Renato Moicano's inaugural promotion — a result Santiago figured would earn him visibility, not a contract.

The pull toward Shanghai runs deeper than a debut, though. Santiago is a longtime friend of Alex Pereira — the former two-division UFC champ now sitting at 13-4 (11 KO) and ranked third at light heavyweight — and the two came up through the same kickboxing world in Brazil. Santiago's second-ever WGP fight opened a July 2015 card where Pereira won a title in a trilogy bout with Cesar Almeida. He'd love to share a marquee card with Poatan again someday.

From Kickboxing to the Cage

Both men earned belts under kickboxing banners before pivoting to MMA. Santiago collected hardware in WGP and WAKO, and says he spent years watching Pereira's rise up close, well before the world knew the name. He's not shy about the admiration — he told MMA Fighting he's visualized opening for his friend on a big stage all over again.

This isn't Santiago's first Asian rodeo, either. He fought five times in Asia during the late 2010s, once appearing on a Kunlun Fight card alongside childhood idols Buakaw and Yodsanklai. The jet lag never fully sorted itself out — he joked that he wakes up to fight, then crashes right back to sleep afterward — but he insists he performed well every single time he stepped in over there.

Reading Lui

Santiago knows exactly what he's walking into with Lui, who fought on the same Sydney card where Santiago's teammate Tallison Teixeira decisioned Tai Tuivasa. He's studied the tape closely: Lui leaned heavily on grappling and cage control in his UFC outing, but he's a striker across his earlier fights. Santiago figures he can force that plan B out of Lui and says he's ready for the ground game if it comes.

The plan itself is uncomplicated. Santiago hunts finishes from the opening bell, and he expects an early knockout — though he's prepared to grind all three rounds if it comes to that. He knows the competition just jumped several levels. That's rather the point of a UFC debut.