By Hywel Teague

Gold medallist in 2013 in China, Michelle Nicolini is this weekend once again looking for top spot at the ADCC - and she s counting on the hometown advantage playing out in her favor. Based in nearby city Santos, only an hour from Sao Paulo, the Checkmat team representative is one of the favorites in what promises to be a hotly-contested division jam-packed with potential winners.

How was your prep? Did you travel to a camp this year? 

I did all my prep here in Santos with my team at The House Fight Company gym. Aside from the the no-gi training, we focused a lot on wrestling, rounds of 15, 20 minutes, as there can be overtimes. Also I did a lot of physical training at the New Life gym, functional training as always at Saude Integra, supervised by my physiotherapist Bruno Brito. All of this for the sake of achieving my best performance in the fights.

Who are the most dangerous names in your division, and how do you plan to beat them? 

I believe that by winning your place in the trials or being invited to the ADCC, all eight in my category are solid names. But I believe my experience and the camp that I did means I ll leave there with the top spot.

This will be your third time fighting in ADCC, and you live very close to Sao Paulo. Do you think this will this give you any kind of advantage? 

Yes I this it is an advantage, to be here beside Sao Paulo. I don t need to adjust to a time zone, or worry about weight fluctuations and diet that I suffer when I travel to fight. Also because I can count on the support of my training partners and my family!

You lost to Mackenzie at the IBJJF World Championships this year, obviously you will want your revenge. Do you think you ve have the edge in no-gi?

I already won and lost to Mackenzie, Beatriz Mesquita, Michelle Tavares I think that every fight we try to come with some surprise and in my opinion in no-gi the fights will be even more fierce. The level is equal. The only advantage I have is that I already participated in ADCC events.

You got gold in 2013 and silver in 2011. What is your goal this year? 

My goal for sure is to do right and go out of there this Sunday two-time champion! After this I will travel to the UK and focus on the second Polaris event, on the 12th of September.

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Michelle Nicolini will be squaring off against Gezary Matuda at Polaris 2. Watch these titans collide right here on FloGrappling.com LIVE September 12th!