Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Team History, Fighter Stats, Biographies and News

BJJ Fanatics Instructionals
BJJ Fanatics Instructionals

Margot Ciccarelli

,
17.56K 1
Nicholas Meregali Instructionals

Margot Ciccarelli is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Murilo Santana who worked extensively with other coaches such as Rodrigo Caporal, Jude Samuel, and Guilherme Mendes. Ciccarelli gained notoriety early in her career not only due to her extensive medal tally, but also thanks to her innovative jiu-jitsu style, heavily reliant on positions such as the Berimbolo, Crab-Ride, Lapel-Guard(s), Leg-Drag, and other more recent technical advancements. Her dedication and study of body movement and spatial awareness have also led Margo to co-create Jitz-Jamming, an art form closely connected to her grappling background (more info here).

Margot Ciccarelli Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Margot Ciccarelli

Nickname: Mars – short for Margot. Ciccarelli also goes by “Nomadic Mars” on social media. The athlete explained the name by saying: “I was born in London, UK, and based there until age 19, after which, I was traveling and living between the UK, Hong Kong, and the US, first California and now New York. These three countries are my home so I often think of myself as a nomad, especially since I hold an Italian passport—hence, my username, “the Nomadic Mars.”

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rickson Gracie > Marcelo Behring > Mario Yamasaki > Murilo Santana > Margot Ciccarelli

Main Achievements:

  • 1st Place IBJJF European Championship (2024)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Asia Open (2023**)
  • 1st Place ADCC Europe & Africa Trials (2024)
  • 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2021 / 2023)
  • 2nd Place AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro (2021)
  • 3rd Place ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials (2024)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2021 / 2023)
  • 3rd Place AJP South American Continental Pro (2021)
  • 3rd Place AJP Grand Slam, MIA (2021)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

  • 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2018 / 2019 purple)
  • 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2019 brown)
  • 1st Place AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro (2018 & 2019 purple)
  • 1st Place IBJJF European Open (2017 / 2018 purple, 2020 brown)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2021, brown)
  • 1st Place IBJJF American Nationals (2020 brown)
  • 1st Place IBJJF American National NoGi (2020 brown)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Asian Open (2016 / 2017 / 2018 purple)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Pan Pacific Championship (2016 purple)
  • 1st Place AJP Grand Slam, TYO (2018 purple)
  • 2nd Place UAEJJF Grand Slam, LA (2019 brown + black)
  • 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2017 purple)
  • 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2016 purple)
  • 3rd Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro (2020 brown + black)

Favorite Position/Technique: Modern Guard(s)

Weight Division: Peso Leve (64 kg / 141.5 lbs)

Team/Association: Unity JJ

Margot Ciccarelli Biography

Margot Ciccarelli was born on November 17, 1993, in London, England, United Kingdom, where she lived up until her 19th birthday.

Drawn to martial arts from an early age, Margot started practicing Wushu at the age of 6, then progressed into Chinese kickboxing and Wing Chun Kungfu during her teenage years. Although these are well-known combat systems, Ciccarelli’s early intentions in these activities were exclusively for introspective reasons as explained by the Londoner to BJJ Heroes in July 2021:

I did not see these [Chinese] arts as competitive; my focus was on self-growth. I was in love with the process of doing the work to get better—to know and understand myself more deeply. I have also always been fascinated with movement and body control, so each art and sport that I immersed myself in became a new lens of how to perceive the world. Today, even though I am a competitive athlete, it’s still so important to me to have overall aesthetic movement—to win with beautiful, superior movement quality and not just win for winning’s sake.

During her mid-teens, Ciccarelli gained an interest in bodybuilding. Although drawn to the sport from a cosmetic perspective, she opted to pursue powerlifting instead, keeping true to her long-term goals of improving movement and functional strength. It was while embedded into gym culture that Margot discovered jiu-jitsu, through a training partner who was already a student of grappling.

Margot was nearly 19YO when she took her first jiu-jitsu class at the Mill Hill BJJ club in North London with Nick Brooks, Daniel Strauss, and Oliver Geddes. The experience only lasted a couple of weeks as Ciccarelli left London for a work placement in Maui, Hawaii soon after, but the love for jiu-jitsu had grown roots already. She never stopped training from that moment forward.

While progressing in jiu-jitsu Margot immersed herself in a variety of movement-based activities, working with professional coaches in-house and hip hop dancing as well as circus skills, martial arts, and more. Ciccarelli’s movement research, and friendship with the former professional contemporary dancer Stephanie Lee, led to Jitz Jamming, a creative art form deeply rooted in the jiu-jitsu movement developed by both. A subject BJJ Heroes covered in 2018.

Nomadic by nature, Margot rarely spent lengthy amounts of time in one place during her journey to the black belt rank. From London to Hong Kong, to the United States, Ciccarelli traveled many miles, often. As a result, her coaching and promotions came from an array of instructors. Rodrigo Caporal (Atos Hong Kong) promoted Margot to blue belt, Jude Samuel (Inglorious Grapplers, London) to purple belt, and lastly Murilo Santana (Unity Jiu-Jitsu, New York) with the brown and, in May 2021, the black belt rank.

Margot Ciccarelli Grappling Record

55 WINS
  • BY POINTS
    25 (45%)
  • BY ADVANTAGES
    5 (9%)
  • BY SUBMISSION
    21 (38%)
  • BY DECISION
    4 (7%)
  • BY PENALTIES
    0 (0%)
  • BY DQ
    0 (0%)

21 SUBMISSIONS WINS

#214eb8
Tarikoplata
24
5
#86e620
Choke from back
19
4
#5AD3D1
Armbar
10
2
#d1212a
Toe hold
10
2
#fad11b
Straight ankle lock
10
2
#f58822
Kimura
10
2
#224aba
RNC
5
1
#ff9124
Kneebar
5
1
#bf1f6c
Bow and arrow
5
1
#22c9a5
Triangle armbar
5
1
21
(100%) SUBMISSIONS
20 LOSSES
  • BY POINTS
    8 (40%)
  • BY ADVANTAGES
    6 (30%)
  • BY SUBMISSION
    5 (25%)
  • BY DECISION
    1 (5%)
  • BY PENALTIES
    0 (0%)
  • BY DQ
    0 (0%)

5 SUBMISSIONS LOSSES

#214eb8
Loop choke
20
1
#86e620
Kneebar
20
1
#5AD3D1
Armbar
20
1
#d1212a
RNC
20
1
#fad11b
Inside heel hook
20
1
5
(100%) SUBMISSIONS

Margot Ciccarelli Fight History

ID Opponent W/L Method Competition Weight Stage Year
26563Julia AlvesJulia AlvesLPts: 5x4SA Cont. Pro62KG4F2021
27358Betina PereiraLPts: 4x3Grand Slam MIA62KGSF2021
27731Nathalie RibeiroLPts: 2x2, AdvPan American64KGF2021
28425Heather RafteryLPts: 0x0, AdvNoGi Worlds61KG4F2021
28440Gabrielle McCombLPts: 0x0, AdvNoGi WorldsABSR12021
29352Beatriz MesquitaBeatriz MesquitaLLoop chokeWorld Pro62KGF2021
29711Beatriz MesquitaBeatriz MesquitaLReferee DecisionWorld Champ.63KGSF2021
30751Nathalie RibeiroLPts: 0x0, AdvEuropean Open64KGSF2022
31821Maria MalyjasiakMaria MalyjasiakLKneebarPan AmericanABS4F2022
31840Ffion DaviesFfion DaviesLArmbarPan American64KGSF2022
33195Ffion DaviesFfion DaviesLPts: 7x0World Champ.64KGSF2022
33323Nadia FranklandNadia FranklandLRNCADCC AUS Trials60KGSF2022
37081Claire NorthClaire NorthLInside heel hookNoGi Worlds61KG4F2022
38731Anna RodriguesAnna RodriguesLPts: 4x2Pan American58KGF2023
40181Thamires MonteiroLPts: 2x2, AdvHouston Open69KGF2023
40692Anna RodriguesAnna RodriguesLPts: 2x2, AdvWorld Champ.58KGSF2023
50681Nathalie RibeiroLPts: 6x4World Champ.58KGSF2024
52653Jasmine RochaJasmine RochaLPts: 3x0ADCC55KG4F2024
59155Cassia MouraCassia MouraLPts: 3x0Brasileiro58KGF2025
59868Caroline VinhaesLPts: 2x0World Champ.58KG4F2025
26559Gabi PereiraWPts: 10x2SA Cont. Pro62KGR12021
26567Eloise ColdibeliWTriangle armbarSA Cont. Pro62KGRPC2021
26568Vi VieiraWPts: 3x3SA Cont. Pro62KGRPC2021
26569Dulce RosenthalWPts: 7x1SA Cont. Pro62KG3RD2021
27356Kristin MikkelsonWPts: 1x0Grand Slam MIA62KG4F2021
27361Amber AgeeWToe holdGrand Slam MIA62KGRPC2021
27362Kristin MikkelsonWPts: 6x6Grand Slam MIA62KG3RD2021
27426Sarah RiceWPts: 6x2Charleston SOABS4F2021
27427Laurah HallockWPts: 0x0, AdvCharleston SOABSSF2021
27428Michelle WeltiWPts: 2x0Charleston SOABSF2021
27730Nikki SullivanWReferee DecisionPan American64KGSF2021
28242Andreza CostaWPts: 4x2Charlotte OpenABSSF2021
28244Sarah RiceWPts: 16x0Charlotte OpenABSF2021
28424Jessica BuchmanWStraight ankle lockNoGi Worlds61KGR12021
29349Yara KakishWReferee DecisionWorld Pro62KG4F2021
29351Julia MaeleJulia MaeleWPts: 3x2World Pro62KGSF2021
29708Fernanda FigueiraWPts: 8x6World Champ.63KG4F2021
31673Ashley BendleWReferee DecisionPolaris 1965KGSPF2022
31836Fernanda FigueiredoWPts: 0x0, AdvPan American64KG4F2022
32646Ashley NicoleWPts: 27x0Atlanta SPO64KGSF2022
32648Hope DouglassWReferee DecisionAtlanta SPO64KGF2022
33190Erin JohnsonWPts: 14x0World Champ.64KG8F2022
33194Luciane SantosWPts: 4x0World Champ.64KG4F2022
33316Taylah BisshoppWStraight ankle lockADCC AUS Trials60KGR12022
33320Arabella CelineWPts: 3x0ADCC AUS Trials60KG4F2022
33325Georgia BalthazarWPts: 3x0ADCC AUS Trials60KG3RD2022
38726Alexa YanesWPts: 0x0, AdvPan American58KG4F2023
38730Larissa CamposLarissa CamposWPts: 12x10Pan American58KGSF2023
40180Yasmim PinheiroWPts: 4x0Houston Open69KGSF2023
40687Thauany CorreaWChoke from backWorld Champ.58KGR12023
41582Nanami IchikawaWPts: 10x2Asian Open64KGF2023
41584Thais LoureiroThais LoureiroWKimuraAsian OpenABSSF2023
44249Elizabeth LieraWTarikoplataOC Open64KGSF2023
44250Jaine FragosoJaine FragosoWTarikoplataOC Open64KGF2023
45320Desyana GWRNCADCC IDN65KGF2023
45321Shella ChristianaWToe holdADCC IDNABS4F2023
45322Simone JuliaWKneebarADCC IDNABSSF2023
45323Nina ChrestelaWTarikoplataADCC IDNABSF2023
46697Camila RoqueWBow and arrowEuropean Open58KG4F2024
46701Rafaela RosaWTarikoplataEuropean Open58KGSF2024
46703Gabriela PereiraGabriela PereiraWPts: 2x2, AdvEuropean Open58KGF2024
47360K. ConstantinouWKimuraADCC EU Trials55KG8F2024
47363Ana SvetkivskaWPts: 3x0ADCC EU Trials55KG8F2024
47367C. Du PlessisWPts: 3x0ADCC EU Trials55KG4F2024
47369Julia MaeleJulia MaeleWPts: 3x0ADCC EU Trials55KGSF2024
47370Ashley BendleWPts: 3x0ADCC EU Trials55KGF2024
47627Ashley YoderWTarikoplataLA NG Open61KGF2024
47628Thais LoureiroThais LoureiroWPts: 0x0, AdvLA NG OpenABSF2024
50680Andreza MoraisWChoke from backWorld Champ.58KG4F2024
51256Angela PucciWArmbarAmerican NGN61KGRR2024
51258Joanna TrindadeWArmbarAmerican NGN61KGRR2024
59151Mikaele DamacenoWChoke from backBrasileiro58KG4F2025
59153Caroline VinhaesWChoke from backBrasileiro58KGSF2025
59367Meshy RosenfledWPts: 5x2SDiego SPO64KGF2025
59861Abbie OTooleWPts: 6x2World Champ.58KGR12025
John Danaher BJJ Escapes

One Comment

  • fatuma tepatondele says:

    Many thanks for this website and its great information. Belgian cheers from Brussels, Belgium, Europe 🙂

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.

tag....