Nicholas Meregali

The open class at the 2022 Worlds was a trail of submissions with a tight ending. Nicholas Meregali choked Seif-Eddine Houmine and Wallace Costa with loop chokes, submitted Fellipe Andrew with an armbar off a kimura in the semifinal and met Erich Munis in the final. After a 0-0, he won on advantages and took the title in the tournament’s most prestigious division. At super-heavyweight the script flipped: he lost the final to the same Erich and took silver.

Born on May 27, 1994, in Santo Antônio da Patrulha, in Rio Grande do Sul, and nicknamed Alemão for his build, he came to Jiu-Jitsu through his younger brother. At 16 he joined Jeferson Adan’s academy in his hometown and, in September 2013, moved to Porto Alegre to train full time with Mario Reis. After winning Worlds at brown belt, he received his black belt from both coaches in December 2016.

His start at the new rank was instant. At the 2017 Worlds he won the heavyweight division, beating Leandro Lo along the way. In 2018 he took two bronze medals, at super-heavyweight and in the open class, stopped by Mahamed Aly and Marcus Buchecha. In 2019 he won super-heavyweight. At the December 2021 Worlds he was disqualified during his ultra-heavyweight semifinal against Victor Hugo, which he was leading, for an obscene gesture towards the crowd, and was also removed from the open class.

In 2022 he began training no-gi with Gordon Ryan and John Danaher at New Wave. At that year’s ADCC he took silver in the absolute, beaten by Yuri Simões on a penalty, and bronze at 99 kg after losing the semifinal to Craig Jones. In 2023 he took double gold at Pans, at ultra-heavyweight and in the open class, with six submissions in seven matches, and won the IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix, beating Victor Hugo 2-0 in the final.

At ADCC 2024 he submitted Marcin Maciulewicz with a kimura and, in the quarterfinals, left his match with Michael Pixley with a dislocated shoulder. He needed surgery and spent about 17 months out. He came back in February 2026 at UFC BJJ 5 in Las Vegas with a unanimous decision win over Nicholas Maglicic. Months later he lost to Felipe Pena on a referee decision at Spaten Fight Night.