Nicholas Meregali sat down on Mundo da Luta and he gave a candid take on what the promotion’s belt actually means right now and whether it carries the weight of a true world title.
Asked directly about his ambitions around the belt Meregali was honest about where he stands.
“I don’t know if having the belt still has the meaning of being the world champion,” he said. “I think it will build over time.”
That qualifier not yet is doing a lot of work in that sentence and Meregali was willing to explain exactly why.
“I think we need to have the best grapplers in the world with the belt, so that we can say this as an organization, as a team. I as an athlete of the UFC and the UFC as an organization, we need to have the best holding the belt. And at that moment we will actually be able to say, I am the world champion.”
That is not a knock on the event itself. Nicolas Meregali has been clear that he sees the UFC’s involvement in jiu jitsu as a major financial step forward for the sport.
“The purpose of the event is not to potentialize grappling and jiu-jitsu in a technical way, but to potentialize grappling and jiu-jitsu in a financial way,” he said. “I think this is the main point of the UFC.”
But he draws a line between what the event does for athletes commercially and what the belt actually represents in terms of competitive legitimacy. His reasoning is straightforward, until the roster of UFC BJJ belt holders reflects who is actually the best in the world the title is more of a work in progress than a stamp of supremacy.
Meregali also explained that rushing toward the belt is not part of his plan. He is coming off a serious shoulder injury that required multiple surgeries and his priority right now is rebuilding competitive rhythm rather than chasing gold before he is ready.
“If I could choose my dream, if everything goes well, make four matches and a fifth, then in a new contract I have a belt,” he said. “Because then with four matches I can let go of the body. I can gradually raise the level of the opponents. For me to build my confidence.”
Nicolas Meregali is not downplaying the belt out of indifference. He wants it. He believes he can win it. He just refuses to pretend it means something that it does not mean yet. In his view the title’s prestige has to be earned collectively by the sport and the organization over time not simply declared into existence.
“But that’s what I want, for sure,” he added.
