ISTELA Nunes is completely focused on her mission to defeat “Unstoppable” Angela Lee at ONE: Dynasty of Heroes and become the first Brazilian to hold a ONE Women’s World Championship.
The two unbeaten heroines, who are set to do battle on May 26, have quite a lot in common. For instance, they both want to be positive role models, they both love their families, and their parents got them both started on their respective martial arts journeys.
Nunes’ tale is an unfamiliar one filled with triumph and tragedy.
Born to a mother who worked as a cleaning lady and a father who was an artist craftsman, Nunes grew up in the municipality of Pau dos Ferros in the Rio Grande de Norte state of Brazil.
Nunes’ martial arts journey began when her father enrolled all three of his children in capoeira. She was only five, but she absolutely loved it. By the time she reached 10 she transitioned into another discipline.
“I met an instructor through my mother — she was working at his house — and I began to train Muay Thai, which became a passion of mine,” the 24-year-old Brazilian said.
Nunes’ love for the “art of eight limbs” brought her all over the globe, and led to an incredibly successful career. The Rio De Janeiro native accumulated 52 victories and just four defeats in competition, capturing the WMF and WMO Muay Thai World Titles along the way.
She proudly proclaims: “I was the first Brazilian woman to become World Champion in Thailand.”
However, in order for her to acquire all of that prestige, she had to make some sacrifices. That meant lots of sleepless nights away from her loving family, and at times, a belly without any food.
“I spent a lot of time away from my family to sleep on mats, and to choose between eating lunch or dinner, because that is all I had,” she remembers. “I would be in the gym in the mornings, afternoons, and nights. Sometimes, it was not even the training session I should be at, but I would do it just to see if I would improve in some way.”
In 2015, Nunes relocated to Curitiba, where she started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, grappling, and other disciplines in anticipation of a career inside the cage. The Brazilian martial artist made her debut later that October, and has not looked back since, racking up a perfect 5-0, 1 NC professional record in the process.
Now she is on the brink of superstardom, and all of her successes would not be possible without the encouragement of her loudest fans of all, her family.