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, incorp ...
(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 century ...
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". Havi ...
, 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 s ...
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 submission grappler, mixed martial artist and a world-champion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competitor. She has won the World Championship twice. A member of Wales Judo National team when she was a ju ...
at
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
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 ...
gi championships at black belt level she is a:-
8x
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, ...
champion
3x
Pan-American Championship champion
3x
European Championship champion
3x
Brazilian Nationals
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu (lit. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship), commonly known as ''Brasileiro'', is an annual Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) tournament held in Brazil by the IBJJF. ''Brasileiro'' has been held annually since 1996, ...
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 mixed ...
.
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 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 COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. 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 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 no ...
, Singapore
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 6–2
,
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, ...
, 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 =
, su ...
, Malaysia
,
, -
, Loss
, align=center, 5–2
, Tiffany Teo
, Decision (unanimous)
,
ONE Championship: Heart of the Lion
,
, align=center, 3
, 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 no ...
, 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 =
, su ...
,
, -
, 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 of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 3–1
, Mona Samir
, Submission (rear-naked choke)
,
ONE Championship: Defending Honor
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 2:16
,
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 no ...
, 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 ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
,
, -
, 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, Newcastl ...
, 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, Mirafl ...
, Peru
,
, -
See also
*
List of current ONE fighters
The ONE Championship (formerly known as "ONE Fighting Championship") promotion was started in 2011.
This list is an up-to-date roster of those fighters currently under contract with the ONE Championship brand. Fighters are organized by weight clas ...
References
External links
Michelle Nicoliniat
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. I ...
*
Michelle Nicoliniat 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