Emmanuela Oliveira 
At Who’s Number One 22, Adele Fornarino joined the card at the last minute, replacing Ffion Davies in a duel against Amanda Alequin. The aussie athlete, representing Atos, accepted the challenge with just two weeks in advance, insufficient time for an elaborate training camp, but at least adequate to put together the perfect strategy.
During the fight, Fornarino didn’t even shed a drop of sweat. What was the reason? A submission by foot lock in just 14 seconds of combat. With the quick conclusion of the fight, Adele entered Flograppling’s historical records, responsible for applying the fastest submission ever seen in WNO.
“Although I only had 2 weeks notice, we did a lot of research in the lead up to that match and made sure we developed a solid strategy. The goal wasn’t necessarily to get a fast sub, that wasn’t something I was focused on but a happy coincidence.”, she affirmed in an interview with the VF Comunica team.
Adele points out grappling as the most attractive modality for the public in general
This aggressive style says a lot about Adele’s behavior whenever she’s in action. Experienced in grappling, the Australian, who has Gi Jiu-Jitsu as a passion, recognizes that the greatest opportunities are concentrated in No Gi, in addition to agreeing with the statement that in grappling the fights are more attractive to the lay public.
“I will never give it up the gi and I have plenty of goals that I wish to achieve in the gi, but nogi represents a different set of opportunities. It’s the link between those that train and those that don’t. In my opinion it is more spectator friendly to those that are new to the sport and therefore has a larger space for growth.”, she analyzed.
Submission Reign flyweight champion in an edition that took place this month, winning a bonus for her performance, Fornarino reinforced the effectiveness of her submission game with an armbar applied in her fight against Olivia Ukmar. When commenting on her participation in the event, Adele said that her way of fighting always prioritizes the initiative.
“I love submission only rule sets as it highlights the main aim of grappling in general, to submit your opponent. I feel like I have a very dangerous game in that way as I’m well rounded with my submissions. I also hate boring matches so have no intention of trying to stall out matches. For each different match I set certain goals and outcomes I try to achieve depending on the match.”, she pointed out.
In her most recent performance at ADCC, the Atos black-belt was overwhelming
In her last appearance at the ADCC, in a trials that took place at the end of last year in Singapore, Adele finished her tournament campaign with a 100% submission rate. Three was the lucky number on that occasion: three fights and three submissions in a total of three minutes. When asked if she will do the same in the ADCC main event, in Las Vegas, in the current season, the black-belt from André Galvão’s team said she plans to perform with the same intensity.
“An ADCC gold is what I have my sights set on at the moment. To achieve that and bring the first ADCC worlds gold medal back to Australia would be very special.”, she plans.
With such impressive results, Adele Fornarino is not dazzled by the achievements of a high-level athlete. According to her, commitment to training, combined with an environment that welcomes her, are factors that make her feel happy and fulfilled in the place she occupies. She finds all of this in Atos.
“The people on the mats are incredibly talented and work very hard so being surrounded by so many like-minded people that have big goals is very motivating. Professor (André) Galvão always comes into class with high energy and positivity, which makes training enjoyable. I always feel that if I’m happy and enjoying what I’m doing, that’s when I perform my best. I don’t think I’m different from everyone else, I just work hard and also try to be smart about my training.”, she explained.
