Nicholas Meregali has just announced that he intends to return to gi competition at some point soon. It’s excellent news for fans of gi grappling but not so much for competitors in the heavier weight classes, as Meregali is one of the best in the world. He is a three-time IBJJF World Championship winner and would have added at least one more gold medal to that collection back in 2021, if not for the fact that he was disqualified for swearing at the crowd. He hasn’t competed at that event since the last time he won it in 2022, and has only had a small number of gi matches in the last three years.
Meregali has spent that time focusing on developing his no gi skills and it paid off quickly, as he won a silver and bronze medal at ADCC 2022. He has since won several other no gi matches against some of the top competitors in the sport and his transition was generally a success, so a fan asked him about a return to the gi when he recently hosted a Q&A session on Instagram:
“Will you return to gi competition at the IBJJF championships?”
Meregali actually said a little over two years ago that he wouldn’t be doing an IBJJF event ever again, so the expectation was that this would be his answer now. Instead, Nicholas Meregali confirmed that a return to gi competition was in his plans for the future:
“Gi is my passion, and no gi is merely a momentary professional choice as the sport is growing a lot in (the United Stares). I do intend to return to fighting in the gi and I hope that it will be soon.”
Both comments have been translated from the original Portuguese, but Meregali’s intention is clear. Interestingly, he didn’t specify in his reply whether he meant IBJJF competition or not. It’s possible that he actually sticks to his guns and remains absent from major IBJJF events, but instead returns to superfights or paid tournaments instead. He has a hurdle to overcome before then of course, as he suffered a shoulder injury during his loss to Michael Pixley at ADCC 2024. That was always going to require a pretty long time away from competition while he recovers and gets back in to top form, but things took a turn for the worse.
Nicholas Meregali had to delay his return to competition, in gi or otherwise, even further when he required a second surgery on his shoulder. He was also asked about his return to competition in general during the Q&A and he made it clear that he had other things to deal with first:
“I’m not sure yet and to be honest I’m not focusing on my return. I’m doing my best on my rehab and at the same time I know this period out of the mats is going to reshape my future, so I’m only focus on all the different views I can have for now.”
Nicholas Meregali shared the answers to his Q&A, including whether or not he will return to gi competition, in a series of stories on his official Instagram account:
