The ADCC World Championships only happens once every two years, and it will finally be returning this week, September 12-13, 2026, at the Tauron Arena in Krakow, Poland. With ADCC 2026 upon us, here is everything you need to know about the most prestigious grappling event that everyone seems to be underrating.
Don’t sleep on ADCC 2026: Less names and weird hours, but still a must watch
The ADCC’s “Olympics of Grappling” label was always a flawed comparison, but it accurately represents the prestige and attention these world championship tournaments typically get every two
years. ADCC 2026 is again the biggest and best Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) event this year by far — even more so with CJI’s cancelled plans and absence — but this iteration is somehow being slept on by majority of combat sports fans.
It’s easy to understand the less hype this year, as there are several factors going against them. With the move from the US to Poland, ADCC will air at odd hours, and their marketing is being spent in Europe instead of the US. Perhaps more importantly, there are also less big name stars (and drama) on this iteration.
Previous stars like Gordon Ryan and Craig Jones have long retired, while some of the younger talent like Kade Ruotolo, Tye Ruotolo, Andrew Tackett, and Nick Rodriguez are either locked into exclusive deals or are simply prioritizing higher paying opportunities elsewhere. Five reigning champions that were previously confirmed for ADCC 2026 have also pulled out due to injuries or other circumstances, like Adele Fornarino leaving for a UFC BJJ title shot, and both Diogo Reis and Mica Galvao dealing with the fallout of Melqui Galvao’s arrest.
While it’s easy for more casual sports fans to focus on those missing names and a 5 a.m. start time, I’d argue that it’d be a mistake to sleep on this event, both literally and figuratively.
Outside of the few champions that pulled out, all those other names also skipped the last ADCC and were never going to compete at the event anyway. Three reigning ADCC champions are returning, including Felipe Pena and reigning double champ Kaynan Duarte, who will have a heavy schedule competing in his 99 kg division, the main event super-fight against Yuri Simoes, and possibly the absolute division as well. The card is still incredibly stacked with BJJ stars and world champions competing in unpredictable, wide-open divisions, and this will be the only chance to watch this level of talent gathering together for a long time.
While the European start time isn’t great for those the US, it’ll still be easy enough to start your day and catch several of the best grapplers in the world battle it out. We’ll quickly break down each of these deep divisions and try to predict who will come out with ADCC world titles below.
ADCC 2026 picks and predictions
The official fight card andlist of competitors for ADCC 2026 can be found here. The official brackets will only be released on September 11, 2026, so it’ll be tough to make more accurate predictions this early, but quick breakdowns of each division are below.
ADCC Preview: Men’s divisions
66 kg: This will arguably be the most entertaining division, as it guarantees an incredibly fast paced action and a very deep roster of competitors. As noted above, two-time ADCC champ Diogo Reis is out, and the division is completely wide open. My early medal favorites will likely be Dorian Olivarez, Diego Pato, Fabricio Andrey, but it’s easy to see other contenders and dark horses like Kennedy Maciel, Gavin Corbe, Owen Jones and Gianni Grippo pulling off key upsets. It’ll be rough for anyone to go through this gauntlet so this could go so many ways, but I’m going to predict Pato and Olivarez meets in the final. With the ADCC ruleset favoring his wrestling and pressure, I’m picking Dorian Olivarez to win gold.
77 kg: Much like his longtime teammate, Mica Galvao is also out and we will have a new champion at 77 kg. Dante Leon, PJ Barch, Taylor Pearman and Michael Sainz are all medal threats, but I’m predicting a final between local Polish submission hunter Mateusz Szczecinski and reigning 88 kg ADCC silver medalist Vagner Rocha. He’s dropping a division, and rules can favor the bigger and better wrestler in Rocha, if he indeed makes it to the final and/or overtime period. It’s also crazy to think of just how good he still is at 44 — even after a heart attack — and that he’s now competing in ADCC alongside his two children. That said, I think the Polaris champ is the most dangerous finisher in this entire division. I think early submissions can keep him fresher than the other competitors too, so I’m picking Mateusz Szczecinski to win gold at 77 kg.
88 kg: Two-time ADCC champ Giancarlo Bodoni has been on a rough stretch lately, and has pulled out due to injury. The division is wide open, with names like Jozef Chen, Pawel Jaworski, Lucas Kanard, and Gustavo Batista as likely medal contenders, and Chris Wojcik and Faris Ben-Lamkadem as dark horses in a very unpredictable division. Chen is moving up a division, and clearly has the technical ability to beat anyone in the division, but he also can be outpointed and overwhelmed by bigger and more explosive athletes. Kanard also has wins over him, but coming in on short notice could make it harder to sustain a deep run. It’s tough to predict without the actual brackets, but with the right match ups, it’s certainly conceivable to have a final between young rising stars in Jaworski and Chen, with Jozef Chen potentially stealing a close decision to win gold.
99 kg: This is by far the most stacked and intriguing division on the card, with four-time ADCC champ Kaynan Duarte likely in for a very tough run to try and get a fifth title. The incredibly deep division includes decorated gi world champ Adam Wardzinski, WNO champ Luke Griffith, Achilles Rocha, Eoghan O’Flanagan, Michael Pixley, and Cyborg Abreu. It’s easy to see upsets get pulled off at any stage, but I’m predicting a final between Kaynan Duarte and WNO openweight champion Declan Moody. Duarte just seems to look and compete different on ADCC events, and he is obviously more familiar with the ruleset, but I think Moody has the size and skills to pull off an upset. This division could go so many ways, but I’m picking Declan Moody to win by points and take gold.
+99 kg: Felipe Pena will be returning to try and defend his title, and it’ll be fair to put him as one of the medal favorites alongside Victor Hugo and Dan Manasoiu. They’ll have tough outs against game contenders like Haisam Rida, Josh Saunders, Brandon Reed and Roosevelt Sousa, but I’m predicting a final between Pena and Hugo. That should be a pretty fun match up, and I’m predicting the younger Victor Hugo to win his first ADCC gold here.
ADCC Preview: Women’s divisions
Women’s 55 kg: Reigning double champ Adele Fornarino picked a title shot with UFC BJJ in part because the ADCC unfortunately removed the absolute tournament for women this year. This should still be a fun division, where I have Mayssa Bastos, Ana Mayordomo, and Jasmine Rocha as medal favorites. If she returns to form from injury, I am predicting a final between two-time ADCC Trials winner Mayordomo and the decorated world champ in Bastos. It should be close, but think this is the year the 10-time IBJJF world champ wins her first ADCC world title, Mayssa Bastos by decision.
Women’s 65 kg: Ana Carolina Viera is returning to try and defend her title, but will have a stiff test against a much younger opponent here. I’m predicting think she meets Sarah Galvao in the finals, which would be a rematch from CJI 2. I think the outcome remains the same, with pace and wrestling being the key, and Sarah Galvao taking gold.
Women’s +65 kg: Rafaela Guedes won’t return to defend her title, and the two favorites likely to make the finals are Helena Crevar and Gabi Pessanha. It’s curious how Crevar moved up a division, eliminating the potential rematch with Sarah Galvao, and will instead be facing arguably less technical, but much larger opponents. Pessanha is coming in on short notice, which gives some pause, and she also wouldn’t have much no gi experience compared to Crevar. She may just be too big and too strong here though, so I think Gabi Pessanha takes gold and completes the rare super grand slam this year (for winning every major IBJJF title in the gi, plus an ADCC title in no gi).
Absolute divisions: It’s unfortunate that ADCC won’t have women’s absolute divisions this year. We also won’t know who competes in the men’s absolute until the day of the tournament itself, but it’s a relatively safer bet to predict the 99 kg winner to take double gold, as they’re skilled enough to hang with the +99 grapplers, and big enough to outmuscle the rest of the field. Could that potentially be Moody or Duarte? It’s impossible to predict at this point, but this will be fun if we see some giant killers from the smaller divisions get some run.
ADCC 2026 full schedule, how to watch, live stream, start times
ADCC 2026 will happen from September 12-13, 2026, at the Tauron Arena in Krakow, Poland. The first matches are likely to start very early in the morning for those in the US, but later rounds and the event days should conclude past noon.
Live streams will be on FloGrappling, with a few early bouts likely streamed for free on YouTube. The full schedule for Day 1 and Day 2 of ADCC 2026 is as follows:
September 11, 2026:
- 1 p.m. ET: ADCC 2026 Bracket Reveal
ADCC 2026 Day 1, September 12, 2026:
- 5 a.m. ET: Broadcast start time, opening ceremony
- 5:45 a.m. ET: Official start time for first matches weren’t announced, and will likely vary, but based on previous iterations, the opening rounds are estimated to begin close to an hour into the broadcast.
ADCC 2026 Day 2, September 13, 2026:
Official start times for the next rounds will vary, but the remaining schedule for Day 2 of ADCC 2026 is below.
- 5 a.m. ET: Broadcast start time, semi-final rounds start
- Bronze medal matches
- Finals matches
- Men’s Absolute Tournament
- Kaynan Duarte vs. Yuri Simoes Super-Fight
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