Adele Fornarino is an Atos Jiu-Jitsu black black and a 2023 Pan and European No-Gi Champion. Known for her agressive and submission oriented style of play, Adele has achieved remarkable results this year that have earned her the #1 ranking in the featherweight division. We caught up with Adele just before she goes for her third major title of the year at the 2023 Worlds No-Gi. 

Can you talk about how you got started in jiu-jitsu and your journey to becoming a professional athlete?

I started jiu-jitsu when I was about 10 years old. When I was younger I wanted to be a police officer, so I decided a martial art would help me. A BJJ gym just happened to be the closest to me, which was the reason I chose jiu-jitsu. I was lucky enough to have a really good instructor that made classes really fun. When I was 16 I competed in my first international competition after winning a local competition where the prize was flights and entry fee for gi Worlds. I competed in the juvenile blue belt division and ended up winning. After seeing just how big jiu-jitsu was, and how much I enjoyed competing, I fell in love with it and knew then that I wanted to be a full time jiu-jitsu athlete. That’s when I decided I really wanted to pursue jiu-jitsu as a career for as long as my body will let me.

Who are some of the athletes you looked up to coming up through the ranks?

There are so many athletes that over the years I’ve looked up to. For me I really enjoyed intricate, beautiful jiu-jitsu. Rafa Mendes has been someone I loved watching and studying. As a smaller grappler Mackenzie Dern was also someone I looked up to, especially when she came up against bigger opponents. I remember watching Andre Galvao compete and I loved how explosive and tactical he was. He also knew how to entertain the crowd.

2023 has been a breakout year for you as an athlete, as you had amazing results both with and without the gi. Can you talk about your 2023 achievements, especially your recent major no-gi titles?

Coming into my black belt debut year I knew I wanted to hit as many competitions as possible, especially off the back end of a fairly successful brown belt season. At the start of the year I decided to jump back into the gi after about two years off and absolutely loved it. It definitely reignited my love for the gi and I’ll definitely continue competing in both. I shifted back to no-gi towards the second part of the year and it started strong. I had a 100% submission rate at both Pans and Europeans No-Gi. I’m really enjoying further developing both my gi and no-gi and want to take this newfound experience at major events into No-Gi Worlds.

You finish a lot of opponents with your armbar from guard. How has that technique evolved for you over the years?

The armbar from guard has always been a strong submission for me, even when I was a yellow belt it was my go to. I have definitely further developed it and added different variations and details to it but in its essence it is the same as when I first learnt it. I’ve adapted many aspects of my gi game into no-gi to create a system that works for me. I know many people say that you should stick to either gi or no-gi. However I feel that training and competing in the gi has helped my no-gi game develop even more.

Can you talk about Worlds No-Gi and what you expect from your division?

I’m super excited for No-Gi Worlds. I think the division is stacked full of seasoned competitors that all have their own style. I think every match in this division will be super interesting. I’m excited to bring some super technical, well rounded jiu-jitsu to the division.

Don’t miss Adele competing for her third major no-gi title of 2023! The 2023 World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championships take place from Thursday, December 7th through Saturday, December 9th at the Las Vegas Convention Center. If you can’t make it to Vegas, you can watch all the matches live, exclusively on FloGrappling.