Michelle Zonato Nicolini or Michelle Nicolini (born January 5, 1982) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

(MMA). Among the most accomplished female grapplers of all time, Nicolini holds third place for most IBJJF

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

titles, with eight wins. She is a member of the IBJJF Hall of Fame.

Grappling career

Nicolini was born in the city of Itú in Brazil. At the age of 14 she started

Capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, capoeira music, music, and spirituality. It likely originated from enslaved Mbundu people, of the Kingdom of Ndongo, in present-day Angola. The ...

stopping 3 years later to focus on jiu-jitsu, training under

Robert Drysdale Robert Lewis Drysdale (born October 5, 1981) is a Brazilian-American Brazilian jiu-jitsu 4th degree black belt under Léo Vieira, a retired undefeated Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and an instructor at his own BJJ acade ...

, who she received her black belt from. In 2015 she competed twice at

Polaris Pro Grappling Polaris Pro Grappling is Europe's longest running large-scale professional grappling event. They have organized dozens of events, primarily in the UK but also elsewhere in Europe. The promotion has produced events with a variety of different fo ...

beating Angelica Galvao via toehold and losing to

Gezary Matuda Gezary Matuda is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt practitioner from Brazil. A two-time World and Pan Champion in colored belts, she is a three-time IBJJF World Champion, a three-time Pan American Champion, and a European Open black belt Cham ...

via armbar. Nicolini was scheduled to compete against

Ffion Davies Ffion Davies (born 18 January 1995) is a Welsh submission grappler and mixed martial artist. She is a multiple winner of the IBJJF World Championship, including the no-gi championship in 2023 in both the 61 kg and absolute divisions. Da ...

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

21 on September 24, 2022, for the promotion's inaugural bantamweight title Davies withdrew from the match and was replaced by Ashley Bendle on short notice. Nicolini defeated Bendle by split decision and won the Polaris bantamweight title. Nicolini competed in the IBJJF Master International Championship - Europe on April 30, 2023 where she won gold medals in the lightweight and absolute divisions at Master 2.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitive summary

In the major IBJJF gi championships at black belt level she is a:- 8x

champion
3x Pan-American Championship champion
3x

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

champion
3x Brazilian Nationals champion 2022 European Master 1 Lightweight Champion In the major IBJJF Nogi championships at black belt level she is a:- 4x World Nogi Championship champion
2x Pan Ams Nogi Championship champion
2x Euros Nogi Championship champion She is also a 4x ADCC medal winner – 1x Gold, 2x Silver and 1x Bronze. By winning the Brazilian Nationals Nogi Championship Michelle would become the first female athlete to complete a clean sweep of winning a gold medal at black belt level in both gi and no-gi at all four major championships.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Nicolini was scheduled to face Cristina Meija at Inka FC 11 on June 23, 2011, in her mixed martial arts debut. She won the fight by a first-round submission. Nicolini was scheduled to face Lanchana Green at M4TC 13: Nemesis on February 22, 2014. She won the fight by a first-round submission. Nicolini was scheduled to face Norma Rueda Center at Legacy FC 36 October 17, 2014. Nicolini suffered her first professional loss, as Norma won by unanimous decision.

ONE Championship

On July 25, 2016, it was revealed that Nicolini had signed with the Singapore-based fight promotion

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

. Nicolini was scheduled to face Mona Samir at ONE Championship: Defending Honor on November 16, 2016. She won the fight by a first-round submission. Nicolini was scheduled to face Irina Mazepa at ONE Championship: Kings of Destiny on April 21, 2017. She won the fight by a first-round submission. Nicolini was scheduled to face Iryna Kyselova at ONE Championship: Visions of Victory on March 8, 2018. She won the fight by a first-round submission. Nicolini was scheduled to face Tiffany Teo, in a ONE strawweight title eliminator, at ONE Championship: Heart of the Lion on November 9, 2018. Teo won the fight by unanimous decision, handing Nicolini her second professional loss. Nicolini was scheduled to face the reigning ONE Women's Atomweight champion

Angela Lee Angela Seung Ju Pucci (née Lee, zh, 李胜珠, , born July 8, 1996), also known as Angela Lee Pucci, is a Canadian-born American combat sports mental health advocate and former professional mixed martial artist. She competed in the atomwei ...

, in a strawweight bout, at ONE Championship: Masters of Destiny on July 12, 2019. Despite coming into the bout as an underdog, and being on the receiving end of several uncalled fouls, Nicolini won the fight by unanimous decision. Nicolini challenged the reigning ONE Women's Strawweight World champion Xiong Jingnan at ONE Championship: Empower on September 3, 2021. It was originally scheduled for May 28, 2021, before being postponed due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. She lost the bout via unanimous decision, unable to get her opponent to the ground and losing the striking exchanges.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 , Xiong Jingnan , Decision (unanimous) , ONE: Empower , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , ONE: Masters of Destiny , , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 , Tiffany Teo , Decision (unanimous) , ONE: Heart of the Lion , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Iryna Kyselova , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE: Visions of Victory , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

, Malaysia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Irina Mazepa , Submission (armbar) , ONE: Kings of Destiny , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 ,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Mona Samir , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE: Defending Honor , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:16 ,

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Norma Rueda Center , Decision (unanimous) , Legacy FC 36 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Lanchana Green , Submission (armbar) , M4TC 13: Nemesis , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Cristina Meija , Submission (armbar) , Inka FC 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:36 , Santiago de Surco, Peru , , -

References

External links

Michelle Nicolini
at

ONE 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

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Michelle Nicolini
at BJJ Heroes {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolini, Michelle 1982 births Living people Brazilian female mixed martial artists Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Strawweight mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from São Paulo (state) People from Itu, São Paulo Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champions (women) World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists IBJJF Hall of Fame inductees Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners who have competed in MMA (women) ADCC Submission Fighting World Champions (women) ONE Championship mixed martial artists European No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists 21st-century Brazilian sportswomen