Michelle Zonato Nicolini or Michelle Nicolini (born January 5, 1982) is a

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting ( ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

practitioner and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

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

IBJJF The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) tournaments in the world, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World No-Gi Championship, Pan Jiu ...

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 List of competitors inducted into the Brazilian jiu-jitsu Hall of Fame by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), the sport's governing body. The list consists of athletes who have either achieved incredible results throughout th ...

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 that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th centur ...

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 mixed martial artist and an instructor at his own BJJ academy, "Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu". Havin ...

, 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. As of November 2019 Polaris has organized 12 events featuring both Gi and Nogi matches all of which have been held in the UK. Polaris has attracted so ...

beating Angelica Galvao via toehold and losing to Gezary Matuda via armbar. Nicolini was scheduled to compete against

Ffion Davies Ffion Davies (born 18 January 1995) is a Welsh people, Welsh Grappling, submission grappler, mixed martial artist and a world-champion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competitor. She has won the World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World Championship t ...

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

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.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitive summary

In the major

gi championships at black belt level she is a:- 8x

champion
3x Pan-American Championship champion
3x European Championship 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) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixe ...

. 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, Chinese: 李胜珠, Korean: 이승주, born July 8, 1996) is a Canadian-American mixed martial artist of Singaporean, Chinese and Korean heritage who is currently competing in ONE Championship. On May 5, 2016, ...

, 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 Xiong Jingnan (; born January 12, 1988) is a Chinese mixed martial artist. She is the inaugural and reigning ONE Women's Strawweight World Champion. She is also the first ever Chinese World Champion in mixed martial arts history. Background ...

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 a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

. 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 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , ONE Championship: Empower , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the n ...

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

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

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

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

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

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

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

Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Mona Samir , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE Championship: 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 , , - , 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 metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcast ...

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

Santiago de Surco Santiago de Surco, commonly known simply as Surco, is a district of Lima, Peru. It is bordered on the north with the district of Ate Vitarte and La Molina; on the east with San Juan de Miraflores, on the west with San Borja, Surquillo, Miraf ...

, Peru , , -

References

External links

Michelle Nicolini
at

ONE 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

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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 Sportspeople from São Paulo People from São Paulo (state) Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champions (women) World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists IBJJF Hall of Fame inductees