Natalia Silva has been making waves in the UFC, going undefeated in the promotion so far! Competing in the promotion’s flyweight division, Silva currently sits in the top 10, holding the no. 8 spot in the rankings. Having secured victories over names like Andrea Lee, Viviane Araujo, and Jasmine Jasudavicius, Silva has made it clear that she belongs in the upper echelon of the flyweights.

Training out of ‘Team Borracha’ alongside Paulo Costa, Silva shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. But with her rise to stardom, also come a lot of questions from the fandom. Where is she from? What about her early life? Without further ado, let’s dive in and explore all we know about Natalia Silva, her ethnicity, origins, and more.

Where is Natalia Silva from? Ethnicity and nationality

Natalia Silva was born on February 3rd, 1997 and hails from Pingo-d’Agua, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Growing up in a small town, she took the first steps towards becoming a fighter when she started training in Taekwondo when she was just 16 years old! With the thrill of competition beckoning and the passion to prove herself growing, at the age of 18, Silva transitioned to MMA.

In a past interview with ‘Portal Da Cidade Ipatinga’, Silva had confessed, “I started competing without much professional ambition, but I gradually developed a taste for competitions. After that, after an invitation from some friends who trained with me, I had my first MMA fight.”

But how does someone move from a taekwondo background into the multifaceted world of MMA? Silva quickly learned that MMA was a different beast, one that demanded more than just striking skills. In her early fights against Elaine Leal and Kenya Miranda in 2015, Silva had lost back-to-back fights via submissions.

But things changed in 2017 when Carlos Borracha invited her to step inside the cage for the ‘Jungle Fight promotion along with a gym to train and a place to live in. This was the turning point. Then, in 2019, against Gabriela Marcal, Silva showed off her growth as she submitted her opponent to become the Jungle Fight women’s flyweight champion.

She made her debut for the UFC in 2022 after being signed in 2020. Her first fight had to be delayed as she was suffering from a fractured arm and other injuries at the time. Alongside her coaches and training partners, a key figure behind Natalia Silva’s rise in the world of MMA has been her family!

All we know about Natalia Silva’s parents and early life

In an interview with ‘Superesportes’ Natalia Silva had revealed that growing up in a town of just 5,000 people, she never imagined herself as a fighter. When she started competing in combat sports, it was a huge decision that led her to face a lot of backlash from her community. Silva confessed, “When I started fighting, it was completely out of reality. There was no tradition of people fighting MMA. I heard a lot of people making fun of me when I started losing…”

Despite facing prejudice and doubts from those around her, she always had the unwavering support of her mother and siblings. In her interview, she shared that her mother, Marta Rodrigues Da Silva, and her five siblings were pillars of support for her as she revealed, “My family, even though they were afraid, always supported me.”

Her persistence and her family’s support paid off as Natalia Silva is now set to take on former women’s strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade at UFC Vegas 97 on September 7. If she prevails over Andrade, Silva has a chance to continue her journey toward the UFC title and prove that no dream is too big to aim for!