ADCC 2026 World Championship Primer: Format, History and My Podium Picks
I want to take the opportunity to give you a primer on the ADCC World Championship, which runs on September 12 and 13 at the Tauron Arena in Krakow, Poland.
This breakdown is mostly for the people who started jiu-jitsu in the last couple of years and are not super familiar with this tournament. For everyone else, it's likely you've already watched an edition or two. The last one was held in 2024 in Las Vegas, but Craig Jones and company (including me as a judge) stole some of its luster. This primer is my penance for that. If you already know everything about the ADCC, you might be interested in my picks for the podiums.
History
Abu Dhabi, 1998
Where the whole thing started
ADCC stands for the Abu Dhabi Combat Club. The first tournament was held in 1998 in, you guessed it, Abu Dhabi. It is organized under the patronage of Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It has always attracted the best grapplers because the prize money was much higher than for other tournaments, especially in the early days.
Interestingly, the prize for winning a men's division has only this year increased from $10,000 to $20,000. The absolute winner takes home $50,000, up from $40,000. Women's division champions still get $10,000, unchanged from 2024. The prize money is now overshadowed by many other competitions and professional events, but the prestige remains.
Format
16 Men, 8 Women, Half Invited
How you get in and how the matches work
The ADCC men's divisions have 16 participants. The women's have 8. The weight classes are:
Men: -66 kg · -77 kg · -88 kg · -99 kg · +99 kg
Women: -55 kg · -65 kg · +65 kg
In these divisions half of the people are invited. This typically includes former champions, former medalists, and some of the biggest stars in the sport. The remaining half have to win the trials tournament for their continent.
The ADCC is a no-gi tournament and most submissions are allowed. The rule set is interesting because the first half of the match has no points. The points come into play in the middle of the match, and you can frequently see overtimes as well when there are no points on the board.
My favorite aspect of the ADCC is the absolute division. It always features matches that you would only ever see at ADCC. Typically they wouldn't happen due to the weight classes, but here you will see some really interesting scraps go down, because the absolute prize is $50,000 plus a spot in the next edition's super fight.
Worth noting: there is no women's absolute this year. ADCC dropped it quietly, which is a shame, because it was one of the best parts of the last two editions.
My Picks
Who Do I Think Will Be On the Podium?
These are not in fighting order. These are the three people I could see standing on the podium in each division, assuming the bracket doesn't make them meet each other early.
Men -66 kg
Dorian Olivarez · Diego "Pato" Oliveira · Owen Jones
Dark horse: Gavin Corbe
Men -77 kg
Mateusz Szczecinski · Dante Leon · PJ Barch
Dark horse: Taylor Pearman
Men -88 kg
Pawel Jaworski · Jozef Chen · Chris Wojcik
Dark horse: Nathan Haddad
Men -99 kg
Kaynan Duarte · Luke Griffith · Declan Moody
Dark horse: Eoghan O'Flanagan
Men +99 kg
Victor Hugo · Felipe Pena · Pouya Rahmani
Dark horse: Mark Macqueen
Women -55 kg
Ana Mayordomo · Anna Rodrigues · Jasmine Rocha
Women -65 kg
Sarah Galvao · Ana Carolina Vieira · Joslyn Molina
Women +65 kg
Paige Ivette Borras · Helena Crevar · Gabrieli Pessanha
Absolute
Luke Griffith · Victor Hugo · Pawel Jaworski
The absolute field isn't set in advance. Competitors decide on the day, after their own division is done.
Super Fight
Kaynan Duarte over Yuri Simoes
Kaynan has a heavy weekend ahead of him since he is also entered at -99 kg, and I guess there is a chance he jumps into the absolute too, though I'm not sure that will happen. I think this super fight unfortunately isn't generating a lot of excitement, because Yuri Simoes wasn't particularly entertaining when he won the absolute in 2022, and he hasn't been active since. But we'll see how it goes. Makes you miss Gordon Ryan.
Where to Watch
Set Your Alarm
Timing, and how to dodge the spoilers
The ADCC will be streamed on FloGrappling. You will need a subscription to watch, but there is a monthly option now, which I think is well worth it, especially if you will replay some of the matches.
To be clear, I'm not affiliated with FloGrappling and I get nothing for sending you there. It is simply the only place to watch.
Fair warning on the timing: the action starts around 5 a.m. Eastern and 2 a.m. Pacific both days. Day 1 is the opening rounds. Day 2 has the semis, the finals, the men's absolute, and the super fight.
My own plan is to sleep through it and watch the matches in the morning while trying to avoid spoilers. That is harder than it sounds. If you follow FloGrappling or ADCC on Instagram, you will almost certainly see the highlights, the upsets and the results before you get to the matches, so plan accordingly.
See you on the mats,
Miha
Keep Building
Everything I Teach, In One Place
Watching the best in the world is a lot more useful when you know what you're looking at.
Best Value
No-Gi + Gi Bundle
Both full courses, 18 chapters, 5 bonus courses, 2 e-books and the mind maps.
$159$498
The Book
Modern Submission Grappling
A No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Manual. The whole system on paper, published by Jocko Publishing.
Get It on Amazon