According to the Los Angeles Times, MMA Fighter Kinberly Novaes didn't know she was pregnant when she won a title - she only found out while preparing for another fight.
"I realized my belly was hard, so I thought I had some intestine issue. I took laxative and other things, but a guy that does massage for me told me to go to the doctor," she said.
Thanks to that massage guy, the titleholder went to the doctor - because that checkup revealed something to her that she needed to know.
"One hour later, [the doctor] told us I was pregnant."
Brazilian MMA fighter Novaes was six months pregnant when she discovered it. She was scheduled to fight Jocelyn Jones this coming August 21, but now she won't be able to.
"We did a morphology ultrasound last week and the doctor said I'm 24 weeks pregnant, almost six months, and my baby is healthy and strong," Novaes told MMAFighting.com. "I was worried because I trained hard, fought, cut weight. I suffered a lot to make weight for my last fight, couldn't dehydrate properly, and I was already training to fight again next week, but the doctor said everything is fine."
Counting back the months, Novaes realized that she was already 12 weeks pregnant when she won the Noxii 115-pound title in her May 17 fight with Renata Baldan.
"I'm a little stubborn, I don't like to go to the doctor," said Novaes.
"I finally decided to go to the hospital, and the doctor immediately asked me if I was pregnant," she continued. "I insisted I was not, that I had an intestine issue, but he asked for a blood test. One hour later, he told us I was pregnant. I cried a lot, ran out of the hospital, but I realized that was good news. I thought I was sick, but I had a baby instead."
Good thing the baby was fine.
How could a pregnant woman be permitted to fight in the ring?
Bruno Barros, Noxii promoter, admits that it's his fault. Noxii is not regulated by the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA).
"I didn't ask for the exam. That's the truth," Barros told MMAFighting.com. "I didn't even think about the possibility of a woman fighting while pregnant, going through a camp and dehydrating and everything."
Novaes will be returning to the MMA next year. Her boyfriend Jacson Carvalho, also an MMA player, will stay active.
This issue was first reported by Primeiro Round.
