Brazil’s Natalia Silva suffered a few defeats early in her professional MMA career but eventually established herself as an elite fighter. She’s unbeaten in the UFC organization, going 6-0 inside the Octagon, and is on a 12-fight MMA win streak overall.
Ahead of Silva’s return to the Octagon this weekend, a facet of her personal life, involving her late sister, has once again come to the fore.
What Happened to Natalia Silva’s Sister?
Natalia Silva was born in Pingo-d’Agua in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil, on Feb. 3, 1997. In an Instagram post in April 2024, the Brazilian MMA fighter revealed that her elder sister had died. Speaking to MMA Fighting ahead of her match against Jessica Andrade in Sept. 2024, the flyweight contender indicated that she had previously fought to become a UFC champion simply for being a champion.
Silva underscored that after her sister’s death, she was fighting for a greater cause. Expressing her respect for her sibling, she stated, “This particular camp was really hard and I have a heavy heart because I lost a sister during this camp, and it’s something that when you fight for something that’s bigger than you, and if you actually lose something is more important than all of this, you fight with everything.”
Also, the aforementioned Apr. 2024 Instagram post comprised a written statement from her in Brazilian-Portuguese. Silva paid her respects to her sister, who, she implied, was born on Apr. 19, 1993, and died on April 26, 2024.
A translation of excerpts from her statement read, “Addiction stole your joy, stole your dreams, erased your smile, took your care of yourself, bad company took you far… It hurts, it hurts too much, a piece of me went with you. The memory that I will keep will be from the day that you shyly smiled at me, and the times you told me ‘I love you too’ … I love you forever my sister.”
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As indicated in a report by veteran journalist Kevin Iole, Silva’s sister died after a battle against “drugs.” As noted in Silva’s Instagram post, she herself alluded that the tragic demise of the young woman was related to “addiction.”
During her media scrum this week, Silva was asked about her sister’s death and how it’d affected her preparations for her previous and upcoming fights. Silva, who faces former UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Alexa Grasso at UFC 315 on May 10, 2025, responded by signaling that the incident was still tough to overcome.
The 28-year-old said, “Yeah. It’s still complicated talking about my sister. You know, it feels like time moves on, and then it comes back, and sometimes it feels like it hurts more. But she’s been gone for a year now. And I ask God to help me.”
Silva added that though she’s well aware that she needs to train and be focused, the fact remains that dealing with the tragic loss of her sister has been extremely hard.