At only 23 years old, Nicholas Meregali has joined the select group of people who can claim to be an IBJJF world champion in their first year as a black belt. In June this year, the Alliance athlete dominated the heavyweight division and beat Leandro Lo in the final to become a new star on the competition scene.

After his incredible Worlds campaign, Meregali disappeared. He stepped away from competition following a decision made together with his coach, Mario Reis.

Meregali dedicated his time to reading (one of his favorite hobbies), giving seminars around the world, and — of course — his daily workouts.

"I'm very busy this season," he says. "I study a lot, I love to read and study things besides jiu-jitsu. I’m training hard, three times per day. Normally, it’s one workout and two sessions of jiu-jitsu.

“And I have traveled a lot for seminars, so this has broken up my routine. Right now I'm prioritizing this, it was the brainchild of Mario. I believe the other great champions do this too. The Mendes brothers do it, Cobrinha does it, Lucas Lepri does it. They don’t compete in the second half of the year, so I guess I'm on the right path. Mario guides me well in this respect.”

Studious and strategic with his career, Meregali doesn’t know for sure when he will compete again. His last tournament was the IBJJF Worlds. Looking ahead to next year, he hasn’t decided which competition will be his first goal.

"About not coming back to compete, I think it's a choice, a choice to know that nothing is better than Pans and Worlds, which are the two biggest events of the year. We can win every tournament, but none of them will come close to a dream as big as the Worlds.

"I don’t think we have to shoot at everything. What’s right is to take one sure shot and hit the target."

Meregali can say for sure that he won’t be back in 2017. As the year comes to a close, the final two big events in Brazil are the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro and the IBJJF Sul-Americano in Sao Paulo. As for 2018, Meregali and his team still need to sit down and draw up a plan of attack.

Despite his youth (and his considerable achievements) Meregali carries himself with a maturity like few others. He says winning Worlds changed nothing, that he still has the same people around him, the same habits, and the same routine. He’s even turned down business opportunities.

“I stay very focused," Meregali says. "I know I was champion this year, but I have a lot to work on. I’m still in my first year as a black belt and my peak has yet to come. But I’m working and keeping my feet on ground so that it arrives as soon as possible.”

By Vitor Freitas