Alex Enriquez of Atos Jiu-Jitsu will take on the featherweight division at the upcoming Worlds No-Gi in Las Vegas, Nevada. Training out of Atos Atlanta under European, Pan, and Brasileiro Champion Bruno Frazatto for the past three years, Alex has further refined her game and had excellent results in competition. She won her first major title at the 2022 Pan No-Gi, and is now aiming for her first World title in the featherweight division this weekend. Alex shared her thoughts on the division, her style of play, who she’s excited to watch compete, and much more. 

You’re returning to IBJJF competition this weekend at the Worlds No-Gi in the featherweight division. Adele Fornarino, Jasmine Rocha, Talita Alencar, and many other talented athletes are in the division. Can you share your thoughts on the division?

“I’m super excited for this stacked featherweight division at this year’s IBJJF No-Gi Worlds. Almost every girl in the division is a ranked athlete, even some athletes coming up from light feather too. I’m most looking forward to a possible match up with No-Gi Pans & No-Gi Euros Champ, Adele Fornarino. We have yet to face each other, and I believe that matchup would be a great possible finals match considering we’ll be on opposite ends of the bracket due to us both representing Atos Jiu-Jitsu.”

Your takedowns, passing, and back attacks are very strong aspects of your game. Can you talk about how your game developed and how you’ve improved upon it this past year?

“I believe coming up through the colored belts, I have always leaned more towards takedowns and passing due to wrestling in high school and college. However, since my time at Atos Atlanta under Bruno Frazatto, I believe all the details and systems that I’ve learned have helped me become very precise on my passing and especially my back attacks. In the gym, I study a lot on developing my guard and wrestle ups. I would like to be able to showcase how well-rounded I’ve become since my two years at black belt.”

Professor Bruno Frazatto has been a huge part of your career. He's widely regarded as having one of the best guards ever in the featherweight division. Can you talk about his influence on your game?

“Ever since I switched to his academy in the summer of 2020, I have been able to develop new skills almost every day or week under his tutelage. Frazatto is a jiu-jitsu genius who has a very admirable work ethic despite the fact that he has a family with two young daughters and running the gym. He dedicates a LOT of time outside the gym studying to help his competitors and to stay up to date with the continuous growth of jiu-jitsu. Thanks to him, I have grown to become very confident in all areas of BJJ (takedowns, passing, guard play, leg locks, etc.) because we focus so much on developing skills and learning systems in every position. Our goal at the academy is to be able to have a technical answer/approach to every situation that arises. It’s only been 2 years learning under Bruno Frazatto and I feel like I have been able to reap the benefits through winning many major tournaments and learning to become a better instructor and coach myself too.”

Last year you won the Pan No-Gi with a really great performance. Can you talk about that accomplishment and how much confidence it gave you to win a black belt major title?

“Pan No-Gi was my first major at black belt! I had two matches and was able to win both by submission. Although it was a great accomplishment, I always look forward to the next challenge. I believe it’s important to enjoy the success in the moment, but not to live in the previous title for too long. After winning, I put myself in the mindset of the underdog; I look to challenge and to prove to myself that I can be better than my last performance. I have yet to win a No-Gi World title at black belt. This year is the largest No-Gi Worlds to date; it would be a great feat to add to my accolades.”

There are a ton of stacked divisions at Worlds No-Gi. Are there any competitors in particular that you're excited to watch? Do you have any predictions for the absolute division?

“With this year’s No-Gi Worlds being the largest to date, many big stars are signed up and set to collide with one another. In the women’s divisions, I am looking forward to watching my fiancé, Faye Cherrier, in the rooster weight category as well as possible matchups with Jessa Khan and Tammi Musumeci, Ffion Davies and Amanda Bruse, the comeback of Kendall Reusing, and Amy Campo. I hope to see in the women’s absolute for Kendall Reusing and Amy Campo to have a rematch. Some of the male athletes I’m looking forward to watching are, in no particular order, Osamah Almarwai from Atos, Coco Izzy, Gianni Grippo, Kennedy Maciel, Diego Oliveira, Josh Cisneros, Deandre Corbe, Elijah Dorsey, Jansen Gomes in no-gi, Jacob Couch, and many more.”

Don't miss the 2023 Worlds No-Gi! The event goes down this Thursday, December 7th at the Las Vegas Convention Center. You can watch all the matches live, exclusively on FloGrappling.