Gabriel Almada 
Nicolas Renier is an example of an athlete who has also prospered in the business world. Present in six editions of the ADCC, Renier leads NR Fight and promotes the development of grappling and Luta Livre in France. The Frenchman is also a content producer and uses social media as a platform to promote his work on and off the mats.
Nicolas Renier is a reference in the teaching of grappling and became a qualified professor after making a name for himself as an athlete. In recent weeks, the ADXC has innovated by promoting fights in a cage, a different scenario to what Jiu-Jitsu fighters are used to.
Nicolas Renier discusses the adaptation of grappling athletes to the cage
In an interview with VF Comunica, Nicolas Renier gave his opinion on the cage fights.
“It can be good for marketing because many people will identify with MMA. It’s also good because of this work against the grid, but it’s no longer Jiu-Jitsu. It’s always good to test too, I don’t see it as something negative, but it can’t be just that, otherwise it changes the whole game,” said Renier.
The Luta Livre black belt pointed out that athletes who compete in different regulations tend to become more familiar with fighting in the cage.
“Grappling athletes and people who fight in different federations, with different rules, can adapt better than guys who only fight in one federation. Like, I got on well with ADCC and Naga rules, but I always got on badly with Jiu-Jitsu rules. So the person who is used to fighting in several federations will stand out more,” said the Frenchman.
Nicolas stresses the importance of content production
Nicolas emphasized the need for athletes to dedicate themselves outside of the mats, producing content and knowing how to promote themselves in order to get better opportunities.
“I think athletes need to study a lot of things. They need to study marketing, learn to speak English to communicate, know how to record and edit content. Nowadays, we can do our own marketing, which is easier. Back then, it was also possible, but it was much more difficult because there weren’t many options. Today there are options, but you have to train. So, of course, the athlete has to know how to do all this, especially with the financial side.
But first they need to know how to sell themselves. When the money comes in, he needs to know how to use it. But I think that only comes at the end. First, he has to learn a lot of things to be able to sell himself or sell something,” concluded Nicolas Renier.
