10x world champion Michelle Nicolini has announced that the 2016 IBJJF World Championships will be her last jiu-jitsu tournament. 

The 34-year-old Brazilian, who has 10 years behind her as a competitive black belt, told BJJForum.com.br (link to interview in Portuguese) that she will continue to accept super fights and could potentially return to fight in the no-gi ADCC submission wrestling World Championships, but her days of competing in open jiu-jitsu tournaments are over. 

What led me to this decision was my desire to challenge myself in a new way. I want to do other things and one day would have to stop fighting jiu-jitsu

“The decision was already taken months ago. But it was certainly the most difficult of my life. Especially because most people stop because they have injuries or girls because pregnant. I still have a lot of willingness and desire to fight, but now will be a new chapter.” 


Nicolini will focus her efforts on fighting MMA. Currently 2-1-0 (two submissions), she will move to Singapore shortly after the Worlds and will join the Evolve MMA fight team. She plans to fight on South East Asia-based MMA promotion ONE FC in September, although no date or opponent has yet been set. 

“Their team of athletes is great and their coaches are even better. The majority are world champions in some form of combat sport. I felt very safe. I was invited to spend a week there training, but I didn’t know I would end up getting a proposal to join the team.” 

“I felt that if I didn’t grab this opportunity now, I would look back and say ‘hey if I had gone to Singapore’. That's it, changes are never easy especially when you're happy, but I know this will only benefit me and I will go a long way in my dream of becoming a champion in MMA as well.”