Rafael Natal Before the UFC

Send a textRafael Natal BEFORE the UFC Ep 193Rafael Natal had a 17 fight stint in the UFC; in this interview we concentrate on Rafael Natal journey from Brazil to becoming a household name. Rafael Natal came highly recommended from Draculino and this interview does not disappoint.  0:00 Lytes out intro0:19 Mike Davis guest introduction0:39 interview start1:10 early beginnings doing Judo2:04 Getting introduced into Jiu-Jitsu 4:06 Rafael Natal’s early training partners 6:22 Rafael Natal being loyal to his coach 7:50 Earning Vinicius Draculino’s respect10:07 Accepting challenge to fight 3 times in 1 night 11:15 Experience at championship night 12/ first thoughts when arriving to the event 14:59 Beating Valter Luiz Da Silva in the 2nd round 16:01 Rafael Natal’s family reaction to him winning the tournament 18:15 Experience with Gunnar Nelson19:07 Where Rafael Natal’s work ethic comes from/ growing up poor 24:09 Rafael Natal being a true veteran of the sport 25:02 Realizing he was able to fight at an elite level 26:04 Training with Vitor Belfort 29:27 Fighting Danillo Villefort on short notice/ breaking hand during fight34:20 Rafael Natal winning 2nd tournament with a broken hand 38:16 Payout for winning first tournament 38:52 Ali Abdelaziz 39:49 How Rafael Natal became friends with Ali Abdelaziz41:57 Ali Abdelaziz taking him to the hospital to treat staph infection 43:37 Fighting Silmar Rodrigo 46:09 Dealing with first loss to Eduardo Telles49:24 Relationship with Vinicius Draculino 51:54 Ali Abdelaziz getting fight set up with Jon Kirk 53:36 Experience with Lou Neglia 54:04 Ricardo Almeida’s wife gets Rafael Natal a contract with Ring of combat 54:50 Fighting Alexandre Moreno 55:53 First impressions of Renzo Gracie56:43 Training with Chris Weidman57:33 Beginning to train wrestling 58:59 Fighting Plinio Cruz 59:57 Losing to victor O’Donnell/ injuring knee 3 days before fight 1:03:21 Rafael Natal’s thoughts walking into the ring/ dealing with emotions the morning of his fights 1:06:02 training with André Gusmão1:07:36 moving to New York from Brazil 1:09:12 Macaco rivalry with the Gracie’s 1:10:46 living full time in New York 1:11:45 Dealing with winter time in New York for the first time 1:12:27 Travis Lutter being the biggest fight of Rafael Natal’s career 1:14:23 Training with Ricardo Almeida/ first time meeting Ricardo Almeida1:17:26 Teaching at Renzo Gracie’s school1:20:16 Getting the call to fight for the UFC1:20:55 Fight with Rich Attonito1:23:35 Relationship with Joe Silva 1:24:39  Rafael Natal believing in Karma 1:25:28 Rafael Natal business plugs/ promotions 1:25:56 Having bad cardio during Jesse Bongfeldt fight 1:29:17 Rafael Natal’s corner not letting him go to the hospital 1:30:37 Fighting Paul Bradley on a week notice 1:32:06 Breaking hand during Paul Bradley fight 1:32:21 Phil Nurse 1:33:50 interview wrap up 1:39:53 Outro/ closing thoughts Rafael Natal BEFORE the UFC Ep 192 Subscribe to the Lytes Out Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@LytesOutClipsSocials: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lytesoutpodcast/reels/iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lytes-out-podcast/id1568575809 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/3q8KsfqrSQSjkdPLkdtNWb Mike - The MMA Detective - @mikedavis632 Cash App - $mikedavis1231Venmo - Mike-Davis-63ZELLE: [email protected] / ph#: 773-491-5052 Follow the #LOP team on Instagram: Support the show