GiGi Canuto, Brazil, 7-1
Pros:
-Excellent Jiu-Jitsu l
-Smooth quick transitions
-Submission expect
-Slick back take
-Good ground and pound
-Good kicks
-Throws in combinations
-Dominant top position
-Good wrestling
-Scrambles very well
-Durable
-Dangerous off her back
-Goes body-head
Cons:
-Cage wrestling needs work
-Head movement needs work
-Open to straight strikes
-Misjudgments range at times
Canuto is personally one of my favorite female prospects. She’s extremely fun to watch and improving rapidly. She came into MMA as a jiu-jitsu black belt and multiple-time world champion. Early in her career, Canuto leaned heavily on her jiu-jitsu but wasn’t shy about testing her striking. At that stage, she had issues keeping her hands up, standing too long in front of opponents, and advancing recklessly.
Over time, her striking has improved immensely, so much so that you wouldn’t immediately know she’s a jiu-jitsu practitioner until the fight hits the mat. She still has some issues finding range at times, occasionally overextending, and leaving herself open to counters. Her head movement has improved, but she can still struggle getting away from a stiff jab.
What she does well, though, is respond with real offense. Canuto is constantly throwing combinations and mixing her targets. She has a nice one-two that goes body to head, and she builds off those blitzes with higher volume. She’s also dangerous with her kicks, especially targeting the calf, and she can throw a quick, clean head kick off both stances.
Canuto understands that opponents will come in prepared to defend her takedowns. Because of that, she’s become comfortable winning on her feet. Her striking is also good enough to force opponents to relax, which opens up her grappling entries. She hasn’t abandoned her wrestling either. She can attack from space, get to the hips, and drive opponents down. In the clinch, she’s opportunistic, though she will sometimes accept losing 50/50 positions to create scrambles.
Off her back, she’s very dangerous. Canuto is a high-level submission grappler with active guard work, strong wrist control, and extremely fluid hips and flexibility. She’s shown top-tier scrambling ability as well, including beautiful sweeps and reversals. She’s not necessarily fighting to win minutes; she’s fighting to finish. Her ground-and-pound is improving, and she’s not afraid to push a scramble into a submission chain quickly.
At just 23, Canuto isn’t only someone I think can win TUF—she has legitimate long-term world championship potential.
