Gabriel Almada 
Nicolas Renier is a reference in grappling in Europe and has an enviable career. At the age of 37, the Freestyle Fight black belt has won four ADCC European qualifiers and has taken part in six editions of the world’s biggest grappling event. As well as being a skilled competitor, Nicolas has also thrived as a businessman. Nicolas owns three grappling gyms in Paris and has more than 2,500 students in total.
Nicolas is in Brazil and will compete in the Brasileiro’s Nogi, on September 24 in Rio de Janeiro. He is registered to compete in the master 2 middleweight and is looking for his first gold in the tournament. In an interview with VF Comunica, Renier talks about the championship and believes he will have a tough road to the title.
“I’ve never competed in the Brasileiro’s Nogi, but I know it’s a tough, high-level championship. It will be great for me to get into action in this tournament because I’ll certainly be up against tough local and foreign athletes, since it’s an event that draws fighters from several countries. It’s going to be a great opportunity for me to test myself,” says the Freestyle Fight black belt.
Nicolas has scaled down his championship routine in recent years and focused on his teaching and business activities. The grappling legend believes that the Brasileiro Sem Kimono will be a great stage for him to sharpen his game as he prepares for the World Nogi Championship.
“I never stopped competing, I just wasn’t fighting often. It wasn’t working out and I wasn’t getting good results because I wasn’t training properly. Now I feel good and I’m forcing myself to compete, I chose this life as a fighter and I have to accept that. I just need to have the confidence and the drive to fight well and I’ve been working well in both areas. I’m going to be 38 soon, my brain and body don’t react the same way they did when I was 20. The goal is to get back to competing little by little and to be well enough in December to fight in the World No-Gi Championship in the United States,” Nicolas shared.
Nicolas Renier and Melqui Galvão have struck up a promising partnership for 2023. The aim of the exchange program for Melqui’s athletes in France is to raise the level of Gi and Nogi Jiu-Jitsu in Paris and provide a different experience for the fighters from the Melqui Galvão school.
“My academy is great, now the boys I’ve been training since I was 13 are starting to play at the top level in Europe, after ten years of training. But that’s part of it, it takes time. This year, I partnered with Melqui Galvão and two of his students, Alessandro “Cavalo” Botelho and Iago Siqueira, who are going on a six-month exchange program in France. They’re there to help the region grow with and without the Gi. Melqui has a successful methodology, he leads one of the best teams in the world, so it will raise the level of my academy and the students will stand out even more in local competitions and throughout Europe,” says Nicolas Renier.
Nicolas is a grappling enthusiast and has the skills like few others to talk about the subject. He points out that, even with the rise of the sport, many teams still don’t give it its proper recognition and believes that the scenario for the next ADCC will be similar to the previous edition.
“I don’t see much difference in general, but I’ve noticed that some teams have understood that they would be left behind if they didn’t catch this grappling wave. On the other hand, other academies still don’t give it as much attention and believe that grappling hasn’t evolved. You always have to study and keep up to date with the world of grappling. I think the scenario for the next ADCC will be similar to what it was in 2022. I notice that grappling hasn’t evolved as much in Brazil as it has in the United States or Europe. The level will be steady until the next generation arrives, but anything can happen. It will be easier to analyze after the qualifiers, as grappling has grown a lot in recent years,” says Nicolas.
One of the highlights of grappling in 2023 goes by the name of Nicholas Meregali. John Danaher’s pupil, with less than two years’ experience in the sport, finished the two-time ADCC champion less than a month ago. Nicolas Renier followed Meregali’s first steps in grappling and recalls that the star was already different.
“A curious story is that I recorded an instructional for Meregali and I was one of the first to train with him without a Gi. Even though he was a Gi specialist, he was already a monster, but you could see that he wasn’t so adapted to grappling yet. Today he’s on another level, I believe he’s going to beat everyone at the ADCC,” said Renier.
