After having toured in the greatest MMA academies, Thibault Marino finally dropped his anchor in Brazil, where he has been living for five years. His place is now cemented there, in one of the cradles of martial arts.

When he looks back at the memories of his former life, Thibault Marino has no regrets. For nothing in the world would he exchange his current position as a martial arts teacher in Brazil with his former job in Paris as a salesman in climatic engineering. But the 33-year-old fighter owes this great change above all to a great journey.
“In 2017, I went on a world tour of combat sports,” he recalled. “I visited nine countries, and while I was there I went to train at some of the biggest MMA academies on the planet. The Tristar Gym in Canada, Jackson Wink in the United States… I also fought in Thailand, I went to Korea, Mexico…”
And it was from these 365 days around the world that Thibault Marino never returned.
“My final destination was Brasil, and when I got there, I saw that I had the opportunity to settle down permanently. So I decided to stay.

“Alex Pereira, the current UFC middleweight champion, was in my corner”

Five years on and he now lives in Sao Paulo, the economic heart of the country, where he has set up an MMA training camp for French people who want to train there. Because it is Brazil, one of the cradles of martial arts, that the former karateka has shaped his career:

“I started jiu-jitsu in Brazil, gave my first classes and had my first professional fight here.
For his first outing in a cage, Thibault Marino was actually accompanied by a prestigious partner.
“I remember Alex Pereira, the current UFC middleweight champion, was in my corner. I had done my training camp with him.”
Through matches, training and fights, Thibault Marino was able to develop athletically, without neglecting any aspect of his game.
“I would say that I am a complete fighter, with a penchant for striking. I started with karate and Thai boxing, but now I’m about to get my black belt in jiu-jitsu!”