Olympic champion Rafaela Silva defeated Mexican silver medalist Prisca Awiti by points on August 29, 2026, at the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu in São Paulo. Competing at the Spaten Fight Night 3, Silva secured the victory with a waza-ari and a yuko in a dominant judo showdown.
The Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu in São Paulo hosted a historic night of combat sports on August 29, 2026, bringing boxing, judo, and jiu-jitsu together onto a single card for the Spaten Fight Night 3. Among the standout moments of the evening, Olympic and world champion Rafaela Silva stepped onto the tatami to face Mexican judoka Prisca Awiti in the 63kg division, marking a major milestone for the combat sports event.
Rafaela Silva Controls Prisca Awiti in Historic Judo Debut
Competing in front of a home crowd, Silva wasted no time establishing control against Awiti, the Paris 2024 silver medalist. Agressiva desde o princípio, the Brazilian champion kept the pressure high and repeatedly unbalanced her opponent.
After both athletes received inactivity penalties following a brief lull in the action, Silva turned the momentum into decisive scoring. She passed the guard, threatened a choke, and secured a waza-ari and a yuko to seal the win by points. The victory adds another chapter to Silva’s storied career, which includes her gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, world titles in 2013 and 2022, and a team bronze in Paris.
Rafaela Silva stated that she loves competing in Brazil and truly loves competing, noting that she had been fighting since childhood, had come from the community, and had heard many people say she would never be better than anyone because she was Black, that a monkey belonged in a cage and not at an Olympic Games, but today she is Brazil’s only athlete among men and women to be both a world champion and an Olympic champion, having moved up a weight class and accepted that challenge, and she is very happy with the trajectory she has been forging (Rafaela Silva, via UOL).
Bia Souza Falls to Raz Hershko in Olympic Rematch
While Silva triumphed, fellow Brazilian judoka Bia Souza suffered her first career defeat against Israel’s Raz Hershko in a high-stakes rematch of the Paris 2024 Olympic final above 78kg. A primeira derrota do Brasil in international matchups at the event unfolded during a grueling encounter that extended into the golden score
overtime period after a scoreless regulation time.
Hershko, currently ranked number one in the world, capitalized on the extra session to score a yuko and edge past Souza for the first time in seven meetings, breaking the Brazilian’s previous six-match winning streak in their head-to-head series.
Glover Teixeira and Maurício Shogun Headline a Night of Legends
In the opening jiu-jitsu bout, Felipe Preguiça
Pena defeated Nicholas Meregali by unanimous decision in the third chapter of their no-gi rivalry. In professional boxing, Luan Medeiros maintained his undefeated record and claimed the WBA Latin American lightweight title with a unanimous decision win over Argentina’s Juan Cruz, with judges scoring the bout 98-92, 98-92, and 99-91.
Closing out the evening in the boxing ring, former UFC champions Maurício Shogun
Rua and Glover Teixeira met in a highly anticipated clash between light heavyweight icons. Glover Teixeira e Maurício “Shogun” Rua delivered a memorable spectacle, with Teixeira scoring a knockdown in the second round and controlling the action through superior power and precision. Despite taking heavy punishment and battling a slippery canvas, Shogun demonstrated his trademark durability by trading blows until the final bell.
Following the bout, Teixeira showed deep admiration for his longtime peer, kneeling in the ring to thank Shogun and sealing an event that reuniram grandes nomes do esporte in front of a packed crowd in São Paulo.
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