Rafaela Silva is a judo Olympic gold medalist from Brazil, who is also a two-time judo world champion.
However, she was suspended from judo between 2019 and 2021, as she was tested positive for fenoterol – a substance used to treat asthma.
During the layoff, Silva trained MMA in order to stay active…
And came to a realization that it isn’t for her.
She revealed why in MMA Fighting’s recent Trocação Franca podcast episode:
MMA is not for me. I can’t. It doesn’t work for me.
I got kicked in the face, kicked on the leg, and couldn’t put my foot on the ground for three or four days.
It’s very tough.
The Brazilian national emphasized that it had been a unique experience for her:
It was a very unique experience for me because it’s a whole different fight.
I have a judo background which is totally different for MMA, so it messed with my head quite a lot.
I had to adapt a lot of things.It was a very difficult but amazing experience for me, because it came at a moment I couldn’t train judo, so I gave myself the luxury and privilege of training another sport.
And yes – training MMA has helped her judo in the long term:
I believe it helped me a lot because I was always asking for help, advice, [and it helped] me in my return to judo.
I’ve trained in several spots and would always try to learn something here, something in wrestling, in the grappling area.
I always had difficulties on the ground.At the same time, there I was trying MMA, bringing all I could to judo.
Even after so many years training judo, this period training MMA helped me a lot, it made my spirit stronger as an athlete.
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