Margot Ciccarelli - Italian BJJ World Champion

1. Margot Ciccarelli’s Details

2. Margot Ciccarelli’s Biography

Margot Ciccarelli was born in London, United Kingdom, on November 17, 1993. Her BJJ career involved winning multiple championships in her weight division and medals as a black belt. Ciccarelli lived in London until her 19th birthday. She then traveled to North London to Mill Hill BJJ club to learn BJJ. Now, Ciccarelli is an international coach who trains new generations.

2.1. Margot Ciccarelli’s Early Childhood

Ciccarelli was raised in the UK by her Italian father and Chinese mother. She was drawn to martial arts at an early age, learning Wushu before the age of 6. During her teenage years, Ciccarelli practiced Chinese kickboxing and Wing Chun as a form of self-improvement rather than a competitive pursuit. When she was in her mid-teens, Ciccarelli took an interest in bodybuilding and decided to pursue powerlifting.

2.2. Interest in BJJ

During her mid-teens, Ciccarelli came to learn about jiu-jitsu from a training partner who was already practicing jiu-jitsu. At the age of 19, Ciccarelli went for her first BJJ class in North London with her colleagues, Nick Brooks, Daniel Strauss, and Oliver Geddes.

2.3. Head Coaches

After getting into BJJ, Ciccarelli worked with many coaches, such as Rodrigo Caporal, Jude Samuel, and Guilherme Mendes. She was also promoted to jiu-jitsu Black Belt under the instructorship of Murilo Santana.

2.4. Early Career

During her early career, Ciccarelli trained at many academies and climbed up the colored belt ranks. In Hong Kong, she was promoted to a blue belt at Atos Academy. While in London she was promoted to a purple belt at Inglorious Grapplers. She then went on to win the IBJJF World Championship, Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship, and the Asian Open Championship as a purple belt. After that, Ciccarelli started training under Murilo Santana.

2.5. Participation in BJJ Events

Ciccarelli participated and won in IBJJF World, World Pro, and World No-Gi competitions for colored belts. As a  black belt, she won the IBJJF World Championship three times.

2.6. Black Belt Promotion

In May 2021, Ciccarelli was promoted to a black belt by Murilo Santana. During her early black belt career, Ciccarelli won many silver and bronze medals in various BJJ championships. Recently on July 7, she won a gold medal in the 2023 IBJJF Asian Open Championship.

2.7. Three-Time World and Pan Champion

Ciccarelli won the IBJJF World Championship twice as a purple belt and once as a brown belt. She also won the IBJJF Pan Championship twice as a purple belt and once as a black belt.

2.8. Nicknamed “Nomadic Mars”

Ciccarelli was nicknamed “Mars” or “Nomadic Mars” on social media. Margot explained that she got that title because of her nomadic lifestyle of traveling and living in multiple countries since she was 19 years old. She considers the U.K., Hong Kong, and the U.S. as her home.

2.9. Personal Life

Ciccarelli did not come from a jiu-jitsu background before she discovered martial arts at an early age. She identifies herself as pansexual. Ciccarelli met her partner Meg He in 2019 through BJJ and married her in December 2022.

2.10. Other Interests

While Ciccarelli was training in jiu-jitsu, she also took time to learn hip-hop dance, contemporary dance, and circus skills. According to Ciccardelli, her intent was not to win just for the sake of winning, but to do so with grace and stylish movement.

2.11. The Nomadic Lab by Margot Ciccarelli

Ciccarelli created a platform called The Nomadic Lab by Margot Ciccarelli to train BJJ students and pass on her BJJ skills. She is respected and well-known for her excellent teaching skills and fierce competitive nature.

3. Margot Ciccarelli’s Historic Fights

3.1. Margot Ciccarelli vs Fernanda Figueira

Ciccarelli faced Fernanda Figueira in a lightweight black belt match at the 2022 Pan Championship. At the start of the match, Ciccarellit tried to take Figuiera down by grabbing and putting all her weight on her opponent’s legs; however, Figuiera managed to escape. Both tried to grasp each other’s BJJ gis to try and get the upper hand. Ciccarelli dominated throughout the entire match. Figueira tried to pull a half-guard, but Ciccarelli was able to escape. In the end, Margot won via an advantage score.

3.2. Margot Ciccrelli vs Michelle Welti

At the 2021 Charleston Summer Open Championship, Ciccarelli fought with Michelle Welti in the black belt absolute division. Ciccarelli scored the first point by pinning Welti down, then applied pressure with her leg to win the match.

3.3. Margot Ciccarelli vs Jessica Buchman

At the 2021 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship, Ciccarelli faced Jessica Buchman as a black belt. Both Margot and Jesica played very well during the whole game by trying to submit their opponent. But both of them have good defending games, In the end, Ciccarelli defeated Buchman via a straight ankle lock within a minute.

4. Margot Ciccarelli’s Main Achievements

4.1. Margot Ciccarelli’s Black Belt Achievements

Year	Event	Belt	Position
2019	UAEJJF Grand Slam, LA	Black belt	2nd
2020	UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro	Black belt	3rd
2021	Pan American Championship	Black belt	2nd
2021	AJP Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship	Black belt	2nd
2021	IBJJF World Championship	Black belt	3rd
2021	AJP South American Continental Pro	Black belt	3rd
2021	AJP Grand Slam, MIA	Black belt	3rd
2022	IBJJF World Championship	Black belt	3rd
2022	Pan American Championship	Black belt	3rd
2023	IBJJF World Championship	Black belt	3rd
2023	Pan American Championship	Black belt	2nd

4.2. Margot Ciccarelli’s Color Belt Achievements

Year	Event	Belt	Position
2016	IBJJF Asian Open	Purple	1st
2016	IBJJF Pan Pacific Championship	Purple	1st
2016	IBJJF Pan Championship	Purple	2nd
2017	IBJJF European Open	Purple	1st
2017	IBJJF Asian Open	Purple	1st
2017	IBJJF World Championship NoGi	Purple	2nd
2018	IBJJF World Championship	Purple	1st
2018	AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro	Purple	1st
2018	IBJJF European Open	Purple	1st
2018	IBJJF Asian Open	Purple	1st
2018	AJP Grand Slam, TYO	Purple	1st
2019	IBJJF World Championship	Purple	1st
2019	AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro	Purple	1st
2019	IBJJF World Championship NoGi	Brown	1st
2019	UAEJJF Grand Slam, LA	Brown	2nd
2020	IBJJF European Open	Brown	1st
2020	IBJJF American Nationals	Brown	1st
2020	IBJJF American National NoGi	Brown	1st
2020	UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro	Brown	3rd
2021	IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi	Brown	1st

5. Margot Ciccarelli’s Personal Record Breakdown

5.1. Margot Ciccarelli’s Win/Loss Record

48 Matches	32 Wins	16 Losses
By Points	19	4
By Advantages	3	6
By Submission	6	5
By Decision	4	1
By Penalties	0	0
Others	0	0

5.2. Method of Submission

Method	6 Wins	5 Losses
Straight Ankle Lock	2	0
Triangle Armbar	1	1
Toe Hold	1	0
Choke from back	1	0
Kimura	1	0
Loop Choke	0	1
Kneebar	0	1
RNC	0	1
Inside Heel Hook	0	1

6. Margot Ciccarelli’s Fight History

Opponent	W/L	Method	Competition	Weight	Stage	Year
Gabi Pereira	W	Pts: 10x2	SA Cont. Pro	62 kg	R1	2021
Julia Alves	L	Pts: 5x4	SA Cont. Pro	62 kg	4F	2021
Eloise Coldibeli	W	Triangle armbar	SA Cont. Pro	62 kg	RPC	2021
Vi Vieira	W	Pts: 3x3	SA Cont. Pro	62 kg	RPC	2021
Dulce Rosenthal	W	Pts: 7x1	SA Cont. Pro	62 kg	3RD	2021
Kristin Mikkelson	W	Pts: 1x0	Grand Slam MIA	62 kg	4F	2021
Betina Pereira	L	Pts: 4x3	Grand Slam MIA	62 kg	SF	2021
Amber Agee	W	Toe hold	Grand Slam MIA	62 kg	RPC	2021
Kristin Mikkelson	W	Pts: 6x6	Grand Slam MIA	62 kg	3RD	2021
Sarah Rice	W	Pts: 6x2	Charleston SO	ABS	4F	2021
Laurah Hallock	W	Pts: 0x0, Adv	Charleston SO	ABS	SF	2021
Michelle Welti	W	Pts: 2x0	Charleston SO	ABS	F	2021
Nikki Sullivan	W	Referee Decision	Pan American	64 kg	SF	2021
Nathalie Ribeiro	L	Pts: 2x2, Adv	Pan American	64 kg	F	2021
Andreza Costa	W	Pts: 4x2	Charlotte Open	ABS	SF	2021
Sarah Rice	W	Pts: 16x0	Charlotte Open	ABS	F	2021
Jessica Buchman	W	Straight ankle lock	NoGi Worlds	61 kg	R1	2021
Heather Raftery	L	Pts: 0x0, Adv	NoGi Worlds	61 kg	4F	2021
Gabrielle McComb	L	Pts: 0x0, Adv	NoGi Worlds	ABS	R1	2021
Yara Kakish	W	Referee Decision	World Pro	62 kg	4F	2021
Julia Maele	W	Pts: 3x2	World Pro	62 kg	SF	2021
Beatriz Mesquita	L	Loop choke	World Pro	62 kg	F	2021
Fernanda Figueira	W	Pts: 8x6	World Champ.	63 kg	4F	2021
Beatriz Mesquita	L	Referee Decision	World Champ.	63 kg	SF	2021
Nathalie Ribeiro	L	Pts: 0x0, Adv	European Open	64 kg	SF	2022
Ashley Bendle	W	Referee Decision	Polaris 19	65 kg	SPF	2022
Maria Malyjasiak	L	Kneebar	Pan American	ABS	4F	2022
Fernanda Figueiredo	W	Pts: 0x0, Adv	Pan American	64 kg	4F	2022
Ffion Davies	L	Armbar	Pan American	64 kg	SF	2022
Ashley Nicole	W	Pts: 27x0	Atlanta SPO	64 kg	SF	2022
Hope Douglass	W	Referee Decision	Atlanta SPO	64 kg	F	2022
Erin Johnson	W	Pts: 14x0	World Champ.	64 kg	8F	2022
Luciane Santos	W	Pts: 4x0	World Champ.	64 kg	4F	2022
Ffion Davies	L	Pts: 7x0	World Champ.	64 kg	SF	2022
Taylah Bisshopp	W	Straight ankle lock	ADCC AUS Trials	60 kg	R1	2022
Arabella Celine	W	Pts: 3x0	ADCC AUS Trials	60 kg	4F	2022
Nadia Frankland	L	RNC	ADCC AUS Trials	60 kg	SF	2022
Georgia Balthazar	W	Pts: 3x0	ADCC AUS Trials	60 kg	3RD	2022
Claire North	L	Inside heel hook	NoGi Worlds	61 kg	4F	2022
Alexa Yanes	W	Pts: 0x0, Adv	Pan American	58 kg	4F	2023
Larissa Campos	W	Pts: 12x10	Pan American	58 kg	SF	2023
Anna Rodrigues	L	Pts: 4x2	Pan American	58 kg	F	2023
Yasmim Pinheiro	W	Pts: 4x0	Houston Open	69 kg	SF	2023
Thamires Monteiro	L	Pts: 2x2, Adv	Houston Open	69 kg	F	2023
Thauany Correa	W	Choke from back	World Champ.	58 kg	R1	2023
Anna Rodrigues	L	Pts: 2x2, Adv	World Champ.	58 kg	SF	2023
Nanami Ichikawa	W	Pts: 10x2	Asian Open	64 kg	F	2023
Thais Loureiro	W	Kimura	Asian Open	ABS	SF	2023

7. Top Fight Links

Photo Credit: @margotciccarelli