Meggi Ochoa, first Filipina to bag gold in Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tournament

“History is made! Meggie Ochoa becomes the Philippines first JiuJitsu World Champion! Meggie is also the first Asian to win gold in the Worlds! We are extremely proud of you!” (Photo: @jjfphilofficial/Instagram)

Twenty-eight-year-old Filipina Margarita “Meggie” Ochoa bagged the top spot for the Philippines in the Female Adult 49KG Division of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tournament that took place in Malmo, Sweden last Sunday, November 25, 2018.

Ochoa was among four other purple belts, initially winning against Morgane Houx from France, then Anna Augustyn from Poland. In the semi-finals, she faced Laetitia Boes of France, winning to finally match-up against Nini Hoang of Sweden. The news of Ochoa’s victory was initially posted on the JJF Philippine Official Instagram, a photo of Meggie posted captioned, “History is made! Meggie Ochoa becomes the Philippines first JiuJitsu World Champion! Meggie is also the first Asian to win gold in the Worlds! We are extremely proud of you!” 

In an Instagram post before the fight, Meggie posts a photo of her “touchdown at Malmo, Sweden”, saying “Reppin’ the flag once again! All for the Philippines, for the children in need. All for God’s glory!” also referring to her campaign Fight to Protect, a movement Ochoa founded that uses sports to empower and protect children from sexual abuse.

Growing up in Brazil, Ochoa is considered a three-time International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) world champion.

The year 2017 was a great one for Ochoa as she bagged the gold in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. In 2018 alone, she had defeated the IBJJF World Champion, IBJJF PanAms Champion, and the IBJJF Brasilian National Champion. Last August, she also received bronze in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

Before competing in Sweden, Ochoa opened up about how missing gold in the Asian Games only motivated her to “continue performing well to give honor to [her] country (the Philippines).”