Marcio Andre Takes Aim At Fifth Black Belt European Title
For Marcio Andre, the European Jiu-Jitsu Championships have been an event in which he’s always had a great deal of success. He’ll compete at the 2023 edition of the event on Saturday January 28th, after a year filled with positive changes for the Nova Uniao black belt. Marcio touched on the changes he made last year that are helping him prepare for his best year yet as a competitor.
“The most important thing I worked on in 2022 was the mental side of my game. I had been struggling with that for a long time. And that was the key to come back stronger on the mats. I wasn’t training as much as I am now and that’s why I did the opens at middleweight. I went into those opens believing in what I could do and the result was great. I set a goal for submissions and it worked well.”
Last year, Marcio competed in three events, winning gold at American Nationals and at the Phoenix Open. He won all seven matches he competed in, submitting his opponent in six of them. Though he’ll be competing at the Europeans as a lightweight, Marcio has plans to change divisions and go back to the division he’s competed in for most of his career.
“My goal is to go back to the featherweight division and stay healthy to be able to achieve my goal, which is to compete at a high level.”
Since receiving his black belt in 2014, Marcio has won four European titles. With wins at the Europeans over Gianni Grippo, Paulo Miyao, and Isaac Doederlein, Marcio has consistently put on great performances at the first major championship of the year. He’ll return to the prestigious event this year in Paris as he prepares to win his fifth title.
“Europeans was always one of my favorites tournaments to compete at. I love the people out there, and especially the food. I had great battles and good performances out there. It’s always a good tournament to start the season. I’m preparing really well for Europeans this year, but my goal is not to perform only at the Europeans. I want to be able to compete and perform at all the tournaments of the year. I am super excited to be competing again in the big tournaments.”
Besides taking his preparation for his own athletic career to new heights, Marcio has also invested heavily into his academy and his students. Marcio Andre Jiu-Jitsu in Phoenix, Arizona has become one of the best schools in the southwest United States, producing many talented athletes throughout the colored belts.
“We opened the academy in 2019, and after a few months COVID came. It was a hard time. We almost closed the gym. But thanks to God we were able to overcome this challenge.
I am super happy with the competition team. I have four students coming with me for Europeans. They have put in a lot of hard work and I’m super excited to watch them perform. Keep an eye on these names: Damian Hosokawa, Kaelin Matthews, Caleb Nascimento, and Eliza Nascimento.”
You can watch Marcio take on the lightweight division at the IBJJF European Jiu-Jitsu Championships. The event starts on Monday January 23rd, with the black belt divisions starting on Saturday January 28th.
“Thank you IBJJF and thank you to everyone that is cheering for my comeback to the tournaments. Thank you to my wife for supporting and believing in me and thank you to my team MA, my students, my professors Fabio Andrade and Helder Medeiros, my nutritionist Nathalia Chantre, and my personal physical trainer Joe Micela for all the support. Thank you to Optimize You for healing my injures and Rexpeita for the best outfits out there. I am blessed to have you all on my side.”