Who is Gigi Canuto? Long before she became a UFC fighter, the Brazilian nicknamed “Diamond” was already collecting championships on the jiu-jitsu mats.
Giovanna Canuto started Brazilian jiu-jitsu at just six years old in Manaus, a city with one of the richest grappling traditions in Brazil. Competition quickly became a way of life. Eventually, her family helped her make the difficult move to the United States so she could chase bigger opportunities.
MMA was not originally supposed to replace jiu-jitsu. In fact, Canuto initially tried it almost for fun.
Then somebody punched her during sparring.
Instead of deciding MMA was not for her, Canuto reacted the opposite way. She wanted more.
Years later, that experiment became her career. At just 23, Canuto has already competed on The Ultimate Fighter, built a reputation as a dangerous submission specialist and made her UFC debut.
As of August 2026, Gigi Canuto holds a professional MMA record of 7-2.
Gigi Canuto Fighter Information
| Stats | Info |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Giovanna Canuto |
| Nickname | Diamond / Gigi |
| Born | November 16, 2002 |
| Birthplace | Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Heritage | Brazilian / Amazonian |
| Height | 5’2″ / 159 cm |
| Reach | 64″ / 163 cm |
| Weight Class | Women’s Strawweight |
| Record | 7-2 |
| Team | 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Las Vegas |
| Head Coach | Not publicly stated in the provided sources |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| @gigicanutto |
Who Is Gigi Canuto?
Gigi “Diamond” Canuto is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the UFC women’s strawweight division.
Born in Manaus, Amazonas, Canuto developed her martial arts foundation through Brazilian jiu-jitsu rather than striking.
She began training at only six years old and spent much of her childhood traveling to competitions.
That early start eventually produced an impressive grappling résumé.
Canuto has said she won multiple world championships across gi and no-gi competition, along with Pan-American and Brazilian titles.
However, her ambitions eventually moved beyond the jiu-jitsu mats.
After relocating to the United States, Canuto found herself surrounded by MMA fighters in Las Vegas. She began helping fighters with grappling and takedown work before gradually experimenting with full MMA training herself.
What started as something temporary eventually became the sport she wanted to pursue professionally.
Where Is Gigi Canuto From?
Gigi Canuto was born in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.
Manaus has produced several notable Brazilian fighters and grapplers, making the city an important part of Canuto’s identity.
While discussing her upbringing, Canuto specifically mentioned fighters such as Diego Lopes, Jaqueline Amorim and José Aldo.
Aldo, another famous fighter from Manaus, became an early source of inspiration.
Canuto explained that watching Aldo reach the highest level of MMA helped show young athletes from Manaus that leaving the region and accomplishing something internationally was possible.
For her, his success effectively opened the door to dream bigger.
How Did Gigi Canuto Start Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
Canuto began Brazilian jiu-jitsu when she was only six years old.
Competition followed almost immediately.
Throughout her childhood, weekends often meant traveling to another tournament. As a result, she accumulated considerable competitive experience years before ever thinking seriously about professional MMA.
Her personality also suited the environment.
Canuto has described herself as extremely competitive from childhood. Whether she was competing in martial arts or simply playing games with older kids, she wanted to win.
That mentality remained with her as she progressed through jiu-jitsu.
Eventually, Canuto became one of the more accomplished young grapplers of her generation.
What Did Gigi Canuto Accomplish in Jiu-Jitsu?
Before focusing on MMA, Canuto built an extensive competitive jiu-jitsu résumé.
In an interview before her UFC debut, she recalled winning approximately five world championships across gi and no-gi competition.
Canuto also mentioned winning multiple Pan-American titles, the Brazilian championship and several Manaus Open competitions.
She competed so frequently that tournaments became a normal part of her childhood.
Even after moving to the United States, that schedule continued.
The experience provided a foundation that remains obvious in her MMA career today.
Five of Canuto’s seven professional MMA victories have come by submission.
Why Did Gigi Canuto Move From Brazil to the United States?
Jiu-jitsu eventually brought Canuto to the United States.
Her father and coach believed competing in America could create opportunities that were harder to access from Brazil.
Getting there, however, required considerable effort.
Canuto recalled her family organizing raffles, selling items and searching for ways to fund the move. Government sponsorship also helped make the trip possible.
Once she arrived in the United States, she immediately saw a different world of opportunities.
She continued competing in jiu-jitsu and eventually settled into the combat sports scene in Las Vegas.
That environment ultimately changed the direction of her career.
How Did Gigi Canuto Get Into MMA?
Canuto’s transition into MMA happened gradually.
Because she was already an accomplished grappler in Las Vegas, MMA fighters often trained with her for takedowns and ground work.
At first, the arrangement was simple.
Canuto would grapple.
The MMA fighters would not punch her.
Eventually, she decided to change the rules.
During one sparring session, Canuto agreed to incorporate strikes. She remembers taking a punch and her coach wondering how she would react.
There were essentially two possibilities.
Either she would hate getting hit and decide MMA was not for her, or she would become angry and fight back.
Canuto chose the second option.
From there, what had started as an experiment became increasingly serious.
She originally thought she might do MMA temporarily before returning to full-time jiu-jitsu. Instead, she fell in love with the sport and eventually began viewing MMA as her career.
What Is Gigi Canuto Known For?
Gigi Canuto is best known for being an elite grappler with an aggressive submission game.
Five of her seven professional victories have come by submission.
Those finishes include several different techniques, showing that she is dangerous from multiple positions.
Canuto has won professional MMA fights by:
- Heel hook
- Rear-naked choke
- Armbar
- Face crank
She also owns a TKO victory, which is important because her game has continued to expand beyond pure grappling.
Nevertheless, opponents know exactly where the biggest danger lies.
Allowing Canuto to establish strong grappling positions can quickly become a fight-ending mistake.
What Is Gigi Canuto’s Fighting Style?
Canuto’s foundation is Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but she has been deliberately building a more complete MMA game around it.
Her ideal style combines boxing with grappling.
Rather than being viewed as a jiu-jitsu athlete who simply learned enough striking to enter MMA, Canuto wants her boxing to become a genuine weapon.
That development has required patience.
Early in her MMA career, submissions were often the obvious goal. However, experience has taught her that forcing grappling sequences can create unnecessary mistakes.
Canuto has increasingly emphasized staying present, working through positions correctly and allowing finishing opportunities to develop naturally.
That mentality represents an important stage in her evolution.
The submission threat remains there, but she wants to become more calculated in how she reaches it.
What Is Gigi Canuto’s MMA Record?
Gigi Canuto holds a professional MMA record of 7 wins and 2 losses.
Her seven victories include:
- 1 win by KO/TKO
- 5 wins by submission
- 1 win by decision
Both of her professional losses have come by decision.
Canuto began her professional MMA career with victories over Amanda Lovato, Kathy Solorzano, Jasmine Pouncy and Jamie Miller.
Her first professional defeat came against Natalia Kuziutina in a five-round fight in December 2023.
Instead of allowing that loss to derail her development, Canuto later described it as one of the most important learning experiences of her career.
How Did Losing Change Gigi Canuto?
Canuto openly admits that she hates losing.
Her first professional MMA defeat was therefore difficult to accept.
Still, she eventually recognized that the experience exposed flaws she needed to address.
Before the loss, Canuto felt almost unbeatable. That confidence was useful, but it also created the possibility of becoming careless.
Afterward, her mentality changed.
She remained confident while becoming more aware of game plans, risk and the unpredictable nature of MMA.
Canuto later said the fighter she became after that defeat would beat the earlier version of herself.
The results supported that belief.
She responded by putting together another strong run and adding several finishes to her record.
What Did Gigi Canuto Accomplish in LFA?
LFA became a major platform for Canuto’s development.
She made her professional debut with the promotion in March 2021, submitting Amanda Lovato by armbar.
Four months later, Canuto added another first-round submission by heel hook.
Her LFA run continued with victories over Jasmine Pouncy and Jamie Miller before the loss to Natalia Kuziutina.
From there, Canuto returned with increasingly strong performances.
She stopped Ershirley Kessy Pereira with punches in October 2024 before submitting Flor Hernandez by first-round armbar at LFA 211.
That Hernandez finish came in just 1:49, making it the quickest professional MMA victory of Canuto’s career at the time.
Canuto then submitted Janaina Silva by face crank in January 2026.
By that stage, her UFC potential had become difficult to ignore.
Was Gigi Canuto on The Ultimate Fighter?
Yes.
Gigi Canuto competed on The Ultimate Fighter 34 before officially beginning her UFC career.
The experience became an important part of her development.
Canuto later said the show forced her to mature quickly, both as a fighter and as a person.
She described entering the experience almost like a girl and leaving it feeling more like a woman.
Not everything went perfectly.
Canuto suffered a defeat during her TUF run. However, she later viewed that setback as another important lesson before officially entering the UFC.
Instead of becoming devastated by losing once she reached the promotion, she felt she had already experienced that pressure and learned from it.
How Did Gigi Canuto Get Into the UFC?
Canuto’s combination of elite grappling credentials, LFA success and experience on The Ultimate Fighter eventually led to her UFC opportunity.
By then, she had already demonstrated that she could consistently finish professional opponents.
More importantly, she was still only 23 years old.
That gave Canuto something many prospects do not have: significant high-level experience while still having considerable time to develop.
Her UFC debut came against Carol Foro on August 8, 2026.
Although the fight ended in a unanimous-decision loss, reaching the Octagon represented the next step in a career that had started on the jiu-jitsu mats of Manaus when she was six years old.
What Happened in Gigi Canuto’s UFC Debut?
Canuto faced Carol Foro in her UFC debut.
The fight went all three rounds, with Foro ultimately winning by unanimous decision.
That result moved Canuto’s professional record to 7-2.
Before the fight, Canuto had specifically praised Foro’s boxing.
That matchup interested her because it represented the type of challenge she wanted: a strong striker facing a fighter attempting to combine high-level grappling with improving boxing.
Canuto expected the bout to resemble a chess match.
Her focus heading into it was not to force submissions or think too far ahead. Instead, she wanted to remain present in each exchange and allow the fight to develop.
Although the result did not go her way, the philosophy reflects how Canuto has been trying to evolve as a mixed martial artist.
Who Does Gigi Canuto Train With?
Canuto is associated with 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Las Vegas.
Other fight databases have also linked her with Cobrinha BJJ during earlier stages of her career.
Training in Las Vegas has given Canuto regular access to high-level professional fighters.
She has spoken about training with UFC-level athletes long before making her own UFC debut.
Therefore, competing against experienced MMA fighters was not entirely new once she reached the Octagon.
The difference was doing it under the UFC lights.
What Are Gigi Canuto’s Goals?
Canuto has never hidden her ambitions.
She wants to become a UFC world champion.
However, her perspective on reaching that goal has matured.
Earlier in her career, Canuto often focused heavily on getting finishes and reaching the UFC as quickly as possible.
Experience taught her to look at development differently.
At 22, she said she was not in a rush because she knew she had time to continue improving.
The UFC opportunity eventually arrived anyway.
Now the challenge shifts from reaching the promotion to developing into the fighter capable of succeeding there.
Why Does Gigi Canuto Stand Out?
Gigi Canuto stands out because she already has an unusually deep combat sports résumé for someone in her early twenties.
Most fighters her age are still developing their first specialized martial arts base.
Canuto had already spent more than 15 years doing jiu-jitsu before reaching the UFC.
She competed around the world, won major grappling titles, moved from Brazil to the United States, transitioned into MMA, fought in LFA and appeared on The Ultimate Fighter.
Her grappling also gives her an immediate threat against almost anyone in the strawweight division.
Still, perhaps the most interesting part is what has not fully developed yet.
Canuto openly wants to improve her boxing and become a fighter who can blend striking with elite-level submissions.
At only 23, there is still considerable time for that version of “Diamond” to emerge.
Gigi Canuto FAQs
Who is Gigi Canuto?
Gigi “Diamond” Canuto is a Brazilian professional MMA fighter who competes in the UFC women’s strawweight division.
What is Gigi Canuto’s real name?
Her full name is Giovanna Canuto.
Why is Giovanna Canuto called Gigi?
“Gigi” is a shortened version of Giovanna and is commonly used as part of her professional fighting identity.
What is Gigi Canuto’s nickname?
Her fighting nickname is “Diamond.”
How old is Gigi Canuto?
Gigi Canuto was born on November 16, 2002. She is 23 years old.
Where was Gigi Canuto born?
Canuto was born in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.
Is Gigi Canuto Brazilian?
Yes. Canuto is Brazilian and grew up in Manaus before moving to the United States to pursue greater opportunities in jiu-jitsu.
Where does Gigi Canuto live and train?
Canuto fights out of Las Vegas, Nevada, and is associated with 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Las Vegas.
How tall is Gigi Canuto?
Gigi Canuto is listed at 5-foot-2, or approximately 159 cm.
What is Gigi Canuto’s reach?
Canuto has a listed reach of 64 inches, or approximately 163 cm.
What weight class does Gigi Canuto fight in?
She competes in the UFC women’s strawweight division.
What is Gigi Canuto’s MMA record?
Gigi Canuto has a professional MMA record of 7-2.
How many submissions does Gigi Canuto have?
Five of Canuto’s seven professional MMA victories have come by submission.
What is Gigi Canuto’s fighting style?
Canuto is an elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist who has been developing her boxing and overall MMA striking.
When did Gigi Canuto start jiu-jitsu?
She began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu at approximately six years old.
Was Gigi Canuto a jiu-jitsu champion?
Yes. Canuto has said she won multiple world, Pan-American and Brazilian jiu-jitsu championships before focusing on MMA.
Was Gigi Canuto on The Ultimate Fighter?
Yes. Canuto competed on The Ultimate Fighter 34 before making her official UFC debut.
Who did Gigi Canuto fight in her UFC debut?
Canuto faced Carol Foro on August 8, 2026.
Did Gigi Canuto win her UFC debut?
No. Carol Foro defeated Canuto by unanimous decision.
What is Gigi Canuto’s Instagram?
Gigi Canuto’s official Instagram account is @gigicanutto.
