MICHELLE NICOLINI

Michelle Nicolini is one of the most prolific women's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitors of the 2010s era and one of the highest-profile BJJ-to-MMA transitions in women's combat sports. Born in 1981 in São Paulo and trained through various academies before settling at Checkmat, Nicolini accumulated multiple IBJJF World Championships at black belt and ADCC bronze medals across her competitive career.

Nicolini's competitive style synthesizes modern sport BJJ — closed-guard sophistication, sweep mechanics, submission hunting — with the technical adaptations that competitive women's BJJ requires at the lightweight divisions. Her IBJJF and ADCC competitive output across the 2010s established her as one of the dominant women's featherweight competitors of her era, and her commercial visibility through Checkmat's broader pedagogical influence helped grow women's BJJ commercially.

Nicolini's transition to MMA via ONE Championship in the late 2010s produced a competitive career as a top women's atomweight contender. Her grappling-first style produced highlight submissions in her ONE Championship matches and demonstrated that elite women's BJJ could transition successfully to professional MMA. As of 2026 Nicolini continues to compete in both grappling and MMA contexts and represents one of the most successful women's BJJ-to-MMA crossover careers of the modern era.