Margot Ciccarelli (; born 17 November 1993) 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 ...

competitor and coach. Representing Italy, she is a multiple-time

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

, World Pro, World No-Gi and European Open Champion in the lower belt divisions. Ciccarelli is a three-time World Championship medalist, a three-time

Pan American Championship A Pan American Championship is a top level international sports competition between athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs in the Americas. Typically these championships are recurring, the most ...

medalist and a European Championship black belt medalist.

Early life

Ciccarelli was born on 17 November 1993 in London, the daughter of an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

father and a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

mother. Raised in the UK, Ciccarelli learned Wushu from the age of 6 before progressing to

Chinese kickboxing Sanda (), formerly Sanshou (), also known as Chinese boxing or Chinese kickboxing, is the official Chinese kickboxing full-contact combat sport. Sanda is a fighting system which was originally developed by the Chinese military based upon the ...

and

Wing Chun Kung Fu Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is pronounced "Yong Chun. ...

. She took her first jiu-jitsu class just before her 19th birthday.

Early career

Ciccarelli trained in various academies around the world during her coloured belt years. She was promoted to blue belt in Hong Kong (under Atos) and

purple belt Purple Belt may refer to the following: *Purple belt, a rank in martial arts (see Kyū) **Purple belt (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), a level in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ranking system *A road in the Allegheny County belt system#Purple_Belt, Allegheny County ...

in London (under Inglorious Grapplers). In May 2017, she joined New York based team

Unity Jiu Jitsu Unity Jiu Jitsu is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy and team started in 2015 with its headquarter based in New York City. Murilo Santana is the head instructor. The academy is known as one of the top talent-producing facilities in the sport. Hi ...

and started training under Murilo Santana. As a purple belt, she won the

IBJJF World Championship The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship (commonly known as the Worlds or Mundials) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament held once every year by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered to be the most important and ...

twice, the European Championship twice, the

Asian Open Championship Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

three times and the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship twice. After receiving her brown belt from Santana in 2019, she won the World No-Gi Championship, the European Championship, the Pan No-Gi Championship and the 2020 American National Championship in both Gi and No-Gi in a year where the World Championship was not held.

Black belt career

2021-2022

Ciccarelli was promoted to black belt in May 2021 by Murilo Santana. In her first six months at black belt, she won silver at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship, silver at the

and bronze at the

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, ...

losing to

Beatriz Mesquita Beatriz Mesquita also known as Bia Mesquita is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competitor with arguably the best competitive record in both Gi and Nogi of all time having won 24 titles at black belt ...

in the semi-final by referee's decision (0x0 pts). Ciccarelli won bronze at the 2022 European Championship taking place in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, then bronze at the 2022

World Jiu-Jitsu Championship The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship (commonly known as the Worlds or Mundials) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament held once every year by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered to be the most important and ...

. In October 2022, she moved to California to train under

Guilherme Mendes Guilherme Mendes Godoy (born 1988 in Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil) is a four-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) world champion at the black belt level. Guilherme along with his brother Rafael Mendes are 3rd degree black belts under R ...

at the Art of Jiu Jitsu.

2023

In March 2023, Ciccarelli won a silver medal in the featherweight division of the IBJJF Pan Championship. Ciccarelli then competed in the

2023 on June 3 and 4, 2023 and won a bronze medal in the featherweight division after losing a close-fought match to

Anna Rodrigues Anna Rodrigues is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor from Niteroi, Brazil. Rodrigues is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mundials, World Champion, a two-time Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship, IBJJF Pan champion and a Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu ...

. She competed at the IBJJF Asian Championship 2023 on July 7 and won a gold medal in the lightweight division. Ciccarelli won the lightweight division of the IBJJF Orange County Open on October 22, 2023.

Style

While training jiu-jitsu, Ciccarelli also practised a variety of movement-based activities such as

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

hip hop dance Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in t ...

and

circus skills Circus skills are a group of disciplines that have been performed as entertainment in circus, sideshow, busking, or variety, vaudeville, or music hall shows. Most circus skills are still being performed today. Many are also practiced by non-perfo ...

including

flying trapeze The flying trapeze is a specific form of the trapeze in which a performer jumps from a platform with the trapeze so that gravity makes the trapeze swing. The performance was invented in 1859 by a Frenchman named Jules Léotard, who connected ...

and

aerial straps Straps, also known as aerial straps, are a type of aerial apparatus on which various feats of strength and flexibility may be performed, often in the context of a circus performance. It is a cotton or nylon web apparatus that looks like two suspen ...

. According to Ciccarelli, her aim is "to win with beautiful, superior movement quality and not just win for winning's sake."

Personal life

Ciccarelli identifies as

pansexual , meaning "all" , definition = Sexual or romantic attraction to people regardless of gender , classification = Sexual identity , parent = Bisexuality , synonyms = , associated_terms = Polysexual, queer, heterofl ...

. In December 2022, she married her partner, Meg He, an e-commerce entrepreneur and co-founder of Aday, a sustainable clothing brand. In December 2023, Meg He signaled on Instagram that her and Ciccarelli are currently separated.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitive summary

Main Achievements (at black belt level): * 2nd place at

(2021 / 2023) * 2nd place at Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship (2021) * 3rd place at World Championship (2021 / 2022 / 2023) * 3rd place at Pan American Championship (2022) Main Achievements (at coloured belt level): * 2x World Champion (2018, 2019 purple belt) * World No-Gi Champion (2019 brown belt) * 2x Abu Dhabi World Professional Champion (2018, 2019 purple belt) * 3x European Champion (2017, 2018 purple belt, 2020 brown belt) * Pan No-Gi Champion (2021 brown belt) * American National Champion (2020 brown belt) * American National No-Gi Champion (2020 brown belt) * 3x Asian Champion (2016, 2017, 2018 purple belt) * Pan Pacific Champion (2016 purple belt)

Instructor lineage

Rickson Gracie Rickson Gracie (; born November 21, 1958) is a Brazilian 9th-degree red belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Grac ...

→ Marcelo Behring →

Mario Yamasaki Mario Yamasaki (born in São Paulo, Brazil on April 22, 1964) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts referee licensed in many states, most recognizable from his duties with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), as well as founder and chief instru ...

→ Murilo Santana → Margot Ciccarelli

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciccarelli, Margot Living people 1993 births People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners LGBT Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Sportspeople from London