Adele Fornarino

Adele Fornarino was born on September 17, 1999, in Melbourne, Australia, and grew up as a naturally competitive athlete. From age 7, she committed herself to competitive soccer, playing with intensity and focus until her 14th birthday — a formative stretch that instilled the discipline and drive that would later define her grappling career.

In 2009, at 10 years old, Fornarino added Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to her schedule without stepping back from soccer. Her first instructors — David Hart, David Christopher, and Lincoln Handcock — introduced her to the sport at Dominance MMA and remained consistent presences throughout her development. When she stepped away from soccer at 14, jiu-jitsu became her primary athletic focus. By 16, she had begun competing internationally, testing herself against athletes from across the world. At 18, Fornarino committed to jiu-jitsu as a full-time profession — a decision that set her on the path to becoming one of Australia's most decorated grapplers.

Fornarino's belt journey under David Hart at Dominance MMA was defined by steady technical growth and increasingly significant results on the international stage. Her earliest major highlight came at blue belt, when she won the IBJJF World Juvenile Championship in 2016. As she advanced through the ranks, her results followed, with multiple titles at the IBJJF Pan Pacific Championship and AJP events between 2019 and 2022 building out her résumé.

Brown Belt Dominance

The brown belt era — nearly four years in total — stands as the defining chapter of her pre-black belt career. In 2019 alone, she captured gold at both the IBJJF Pan Pacific Championship and its no-gi counterpart, alongside an AJP Australia National Pro title, while also reaching the final at the IBJJF Pan Championship and the IBJJF Asian Open. Her brown belt campaign culminated in 2022 with two landmark achievements: gold at the IBJJF World No-Gi Championship — one of the most prestigious titles in submission grappling — and a qualifying victory at the ADCC Oceania & Asia Trials, earning her a spot at the ADCC World Championship. A Pan American silver medal rounded out a brown belt run of exceptional depth.

In December 2022, David Hart promoted Fornarino to black belt, formally recognizing a competitive record that had already placed her among the world's top lightweight grapplers.

The ADCC 2024 World Championship became the stage for the most significant performance of Adele Fornarino's career. Competing in the Under 55 kg division, she navigated the bracket with precision and composure to claim the divisional title. She then carried that momentum directly into the Female Absolute division, defeating athletes from across weight classes to win the open class as well.

The double-gold performance made Fornarino the first Australian athlete to win an ADCC World Championship and the first to capture the open class title at the event — two milestones that cemented her legacy in the sport. Andre Galvao worked her corner throughout the tournament, reflecting her connection to the Atos training environment and the level of preparation that underpinned her historic result. The performance established Fornarino as one of the elite lightweight grapplers competing anywhere in the world.

Fornarino's black belt campaign on the international circuit demonstrated that her 2022 brown belt breakthrough was not a ceiling. In 2023, she won gold at the IBJJF Pan Championship and the IBJJF European Championship No-Gi, while reaching the final of both the IBJJF World Championship No-Gi and the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals. She also secured another qualification at the ADCC Oceania & Asia Trials in 2023, reinforcing her standing as the dominant force in Australasian grappling.

Expanding Competitive Footprint

Beyond the IBJJF and ADCC circuits, Fornarino established herself in submission wrestling promotion competition, claiming the WNO Strawweight Championship. In December 2024, she appeared on JitsCast episode 7 alongside her coach Jake O'Driscoll, where she was identified as the reigning WNO Strawweight Champion. On December 15, 2025, she signed an exclusive European contract with the Polaris promotion, with her debut for the organization scheduled for 2026. Fornarino has also announced plans to compete in the inaugural female ADCC Superfight Championship in 2026, with her weight class aligning around bantamweight at 57 kg / 125 lbs.

Fornarino made her Polaris debut on January 31, 2026, at the Ebbw Vale Sports Centre in the United Kingdom, competing as part of the WNO vs Polaris Squads team format at Polaris 35. Facing Selma Vik, Fornarino controlled the first round and took it 10–9 on all three judges' scorecards before finishing the contest in Round 2 with a Rear Naked Choke submission.

The Post-Fight Speech

The performance drew attention, but it was what followed that reverberated most widely through the grappling community. In her post-fight speech, Fornarino addressed what she described as a crisis within jiu-jitsu — one rooted in hierarchical power structures that she argued had enabled the abuse of vulnerable athletes. She issued a direct call for collective accountability and urged the community to prioritize the protection of those most at risk within the sport. Her remarks arrived in the context of widespread reports of an early-2026 exodus from team Atos following a rumored incident, lending her words an immediacy that amplified their impact. Her affiliation status with Atos, given the broader situation at that time, remained unclear. The speech positioned Fornarino as a prominent voice willing to use her platform to confront uncomfortable truths within the sport's culture.

Fornarino's advocacy work spans multiple dimensions of jiu-jitsu culture. She has publicly shared guidance for men training with women in BJJ, emphasizing mutual respect, awareness, and the importance of building an environment where athletes of all backgrounds feel valued and safe on the mat. Her post-fight address at Polaris 35 on January 31, 2026, extended that advocacy beyond individual training dynamics, engaging directly with the structural and ethical issues that shape the sport at an institutional level.

As of March 2025, Fornarino expressed interest in eventually transitioning to MMA, while making clear that she intends to fulfill her remaining goals in jiu-jitsu before doing so. Chief among those goals is competing in the inaugural female ADCC Superfight Championship in 2026. She competes out of Australia while maintaining international engagements through her Polaris contract — a balance that reflects the global footprint she has built since committing to jiu-jitsu as a full-time pursuit.