Noelle “Lil' Monkey” Grandjean

There are many exciting tests for Noelle Grandjean in ONE Championship’s atomweight division, but the French MMA fighter is fearless, and she is ready to tackle any challenge that is given to her on the global stage.

That shouldn’t be too surprising, though. After all, martial arts is in her blood. Her father, a coach and former professional fighter, equipped Grandjean and her brother with judo and kickboxing skills from a young age. 

Grandjean was a fast learner, yet she was always eager to gain new tricks in those disciplines to improve her craft. Her dad recognized her immense talent and dazzling skills, and he continued to guide his daughter through the early beginnings of her combat sports journey.

The fighter known as “Lil’ Monkey” won several local judo tournaments as an amateur, and she would achieve similar success as a professional, picking up national judo championships in both the Netherlands and Thailand.

More success followed, but Grandjean soon had her sights set on something else – MMA.

Now, the 26-year-old primarily trains out of Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand, where she has added Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques to her already potent arsenal.

All of those tools came into play in her professional MMA debut in October 2021, which she won via armbar just 55 seconds into the second round. “Lil’ Monkey” would follow that up with a decision victory and a 72-second knockout.

That trio of wins led her to ONE Championship, where she now looks to begin her charge toward the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Title. Grandjean will take the next step toward that goal when she debuts against Lea Bivins at ONE on Prime Video 3 on Friday, October 21.