Former world boxing champion Duda Yankovich had a stroke last Wednesday while she was training in Team Nogueira, her camp since she started to compete at Women’s MMA in 2012 – her record is 1-3. She is now in the ICU, conscious, but linked in machines. Once she arrived at the hospital, went straight to an catheterization because her middle cerebral artery was occluded throughout. It’s soon to tell if she will have sequels in consequence.
According to an interview to Ag. Fight of Angela Cortes, the physiotherapist of Team Nogueira, Rodrigo “Minotauro” saved Duda’s life by taking her to a hospital immediately after the symptoms became evident.
“I received a call from Minotauro, who said that Duda was bending herself and he asked me what should he do. By what he told me, I knew that it was a stroke and told him to take her to a particular hospital, because public hospitals in Rio de Janeiro don’t have the right machines to save her life. If Rodrigo hadn’t taken her to a good hospital so fast as he did, she would be dead.”
Born in Serbia, the 37-year old former WIBA champion lives in Brazil since 1999. Her last MMA fight was on October of 2013, at Bitetti Combat 18. Viviane Pereira defeated Duda by TKO in the second round.