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Antônio "Nino" Schembri (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈninu ˈʃẽbɾi]; born June 1, 1974, in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and former mixed martial artist.[2] He is a former member of the Chute Boxe Academy and currently trains with Black House. Schembri is highly accomplished in sport BJJ, having won the 1996 Brazilian National Championship in the absolute division world championships in his weight class back to back in 1997/1998. Schembri has a unique style of Jiu-Jitsu with focus on submission and creative attacks. At 1999 Pan-American he had phenomenal wins and became known as "El Nino", in analogy to the natural phenomenon El Niño.
Schembri is sometimes nicknamed "Elvis" because he is an Elvis Presley fan and used to mimic some of Elvis's dance moves to celebrate his victories.[3] Today, Schembri teaches at his own gym located in Lawndale, California.
Biography
Antônio Schembri was born into an Italian Brazilian family in Rio de Janeiro. In his youth, Schembri worked in his family's street market, helping his Italian-born father selling duvets. He began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu at age five under Marcelo and Silvio Behring in the New Ipanema neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, before coming under the tutelage of Jorge Pereira at thirteen. As an 18 year old blue belt, Schembri moved to the Gracie Barra Academy to study under Carlos Gracie Jr. and Renzo Gracie. After training at Gracie Barra for two years, he was promoted to black belt.[4]
Schembri began competing in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2001 after joining the Pride Fighting Championships in Japan. In his debut match, he defeated Luta Livre fighter Johil de Oliveira at Pride 14 on 27 May 2001. Around that time, Schembri left Gracie Barra and joined the Chute Boxe Academy, where he became the gym's grappling coach while learning striking from Rafael Cordeiro. At Pride 25 on 16 March 2003, Schembri scored the most significant victory of his career by defeating Kazushi Sakuraba by technical knockout. Schembri's father committed suicide in 2004, leaving Nino devastated and affecting his ability to focus and train consistently. During this time period, his record suffered and he retired with a 5-5 MMA record in 2008. Schembri returned to competing in jiu-jitsu in 2010, stating in an interview to the Fightworks Podcast that he was finally recovered mentally from his father's death.[5]
He moved to the United States and opened a jiu-jitsu academy in Lawndale, California.[6]
Mixed martial arts record
| 10 matches | 5 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 2 |
| By submission | 3 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 3 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 5–5 | Mauro Chimento Jr. | TKO (punches) | Fury FC 7 - Final Combat | December 5, 2008 | 1 | 0:30 | Barueri, Brazil | |
| Win | 5–4 | Daniel Grandmaison | Submission (armbar) | HCF: Crow's Nest | March 29, 2008 | 1 | 2:37 | Gatineau, Canada | |
| Win | 4–4 | Amir Rahnavardi | Submission (triangle armbar) | MMAC: The Revolution | May 12, 2007 | 1 | 0:57 | Washington, D.C., United States | |
| Loss | 3–4 | Matt Lindland | TKO | Cage Rage 14 | December 3, 2005 | 3 | 3:33 | London, England | |
| Loss | 3–3 | Ryo Chonan | Decision (unanimous) | Pride: Bushido 7 | May 22, 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 3–2 | Kazushi Sakuraba | Decision (unanimous) | PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004 | June 20, 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 3–1 | Kazuhiro Hamanaka | Decision (unanimous) | PRIDE 26 | June 8, 2003 | 3 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Win | 3–0 | Kazushi Sakuraba | TKO (knees and soccer kicks) | PRIDE 25 | March 16, 2003 | 1 | 6:15 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Win | 2–0 | Daiju Takase | Decision (split) | PRIDE The Best Vol.2 | July 20, 2002 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 1–0 | Johil de Oliveira | Submission (armbar) | Pride 14 - Clash of the Titans | May 27, 2001 | 1 | 7:17 | Yokohama, Japan |
ADCC Submission Grappling Record
| 4 Matches, 3 Wins (2 Submissions), 1 Loss | |||||||
| Result | Rec. | Opponent | Method | Event | Division | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 3-1 |  Egan Inoue | Points | ADCC 2001 | –88 kg | 2001 |  Abu Dhabi |
| Lose | 2-1 |  Saulo Ribeiro | Penaltie | ||||
| Win | 2-0 |  Alexander Savko | Submission (Omoplata) | ||||
| Win | 1-0 | Akihiro Gono | Submission (Rear-naked choke) | ||||
References
- ↑ "The Original Jiu-Jitsu Magazine". GRACIEMAG. 23 June 2015.
- ↑ Rami Genauer (9 May 2007). "MMA IN DC: IS THE U.S. CAPITAL READY FOR MMA?". MMA Weekly. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ↑ "Antonio 'Nino' Schembri". BJJHEROES.
- ↑ Nino Schembri Interview OnTheMat.com (September 7, 2004)
- ↑ Nino Schembri bjjheroes.com
- ↑ Nino Schembri bjjfanatics.com