Meet MMA star Maria Favela: A survivor’s journey back to fighting ahead of Invicta Championship in KC

Courtesy of Maria Favela

After defeating cancer, Maria Garcia-Favela is ready to prove she’s a survivor once again, but this time, back in the ring. The 30-year-old MMA Bantamweight Champion is headed to Kansas City for the Invicta Fighting Championships on Sept. 20 at Memorial Hall. “I want to prove to myself that I’m able to get back into the cage, especially after cancer, because I don’t want to be a victim,” Favela says. 

Committed to her craft, she trains six days a week.

This cancer-survivor trains in jiu-jitsu, boxing, and sparring. A mostly self-reliant trained fighter, she is proud to be where she’s at in her boxing career as someone who’s had minimal mentorship the last eight years.

After being diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma last July, the fighter’s life took a drastic turn from throwing punches to chemotherapy.

“The first thought that I had was a self-protection mindset. I just turned off my feelings and said to my doctor, ‘Yes, sir. Whatever we have to do,’” Favela says.

The path to recovery was not an easy one for the MMA boxer. Undergoing 12 rounds of chemotherapy and having received a 50% chance of survival from her doctors, it’s clear that she is a fighter to her core. 

This athlete fights for nobody but herself–she says this is necessary since she doesn’t have to fight but really rather loves it. A journey that started in Mexico eight years ago, this warrior was determined to not let her cancer diagnosis take the sport away from her.

Reflecting on her first fight post-cancer, Favela says, “I’m not going to be stressed or anxious about fighting anymore because this is something that I love to do, not something I have to do.”

Still, having a rigorous exercise regimen, avoiding drugs, and eating a healthy, balanced diet, a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis was not only devastating, but shocking for her, too.

“My first thought after diagnosis was ‘Why me?’” Favela says. 

It was July 2023 when the Mexico-born fighter learned just how sick she really was. Previously, she believed her weight loss and other symptoms were lingering COVID. A visit to her doctor and some MRI testing later, Favela discovered her most challenging opponent: stage three Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Since then, she’s had a lot of time to reflect on her path back to fighting. 

“In the moment when you are mentally and physically broken, you want somebody to hold you and say, ‘Keep going.’ But, there is a moment when you realize nobody has your back, and you have to stand up on your own and believe in yourself,” Favela says.

Cancer is not the first battle this survivor has faced in her MMA career, either; it was a violent relationship that initially inspired her to become a fighter.

“I got scared because he was a really muscular and aggressive guy. I made the decision that I never wanted to be in this position again,” says Favela. A natural born athlete who had been active in sports her whole life, mixed martial arts seemed a natural path to take. It was this decision that jump started the pugilist’s career as a fighter–little did she know that overcoming her abusive ex was only the first battle of many to come.

As Favela prepares for her first fight post-cancer, she shares her inspiration for reentering the arena and her hopes for the future.

“I have different priorities now–I focus on being present and happy during the process,” says Favela. 

The bantamweight brawler says she isn’t thinking about titles or awards anymore–instead, Favela is solely focused on her next fight… for now.