ADCC Worlds 2026 in Kraków: The Matchups That Actually Matter

ADCC Worlds runs September 12 and 13 at the Tauron Arena in Kraków, the first time the tournament has left the United States in its history. It is also, somehow, the most under-hyped edition in years. The European time zone means a 5am start on the US East Coast both days, the marketing push has been quiet, and half the names casual fans know are not on the card. None of that changes the fact that this is still the best grappling event of the year by a distance, and the thin-looking brackets are hiding something: the divisions are the most open they have been in a decade, which usually makes for better watching, not worse.

Here is what happened to the card. Gordon Ryan retired from competition after holding the superfight belt for 17 years. Craig Jones retired too. Kade and Tye Ruotolo and Nick Rodriguez are all locked into exclusive UFC BJJ contracts and cannot compete here, which is the direct result of the UFC's new exclusivity rule. On top of that, roughly five reigning champions withdrew with injuries or scheduling conflicts, including two-time 88kg champ Giancarlo Bodoni and two-time 66kg champ Diogo Reis. So the field is younger and less familiar. It is not weaker in the way people are assuming.

The superfight is Kaynan Duarte against Yuri Simoes. These are the last two men to win the ADCC absolute, so the matchmaking makes sense even if it is not the fight anyone was expecting a year ago. Duarte is a four-time champion who wrestles hard, passes with real pressure, and has a top game that grinds people down over a 20-minute match. Simoes is a two-time absolute champion himself, longer, more comfortable off his back, and dangerous with the body triangle and the back attack. Duarte is also competing in the 99kg division and the absolute the same weekend, so fatigue is a live question by the time this one starts on Sunday. If he is fresh, he is the pick. If he has already had six hard matches, Simoes has a real path.

At 66kg the picture changed completely when Reis pulled out. Dorian Olivarez is the popular pick for gold now, in a bracket that also has Diego Pato, Fabricio Andrey, and Kennedy Maciel. Pato is the most technically complete guard player of that group and Andrey is the most explosive, so an Olivarez versus Pato final is the likely shape, with Olivarez favored on his scrambling and top pressure. This is the division to watch if you like fast, high-pace grappling with a lot of back exposure.

77kg has the best story on the card. Vagner Rocha is 44 years old, came back from a heart attack, and is competing at this tournament alongside both of his adult children, who also qualified. He is not a sentimental entry either, he is a genuine threat who chains guillotines and front headlock attacks better than almost anyone. The favorite is Poland's own Mateusz Szczecinski, who beat PJ Barch to win the Polaris welterweight grand prix earlier this year and will have the whole arena behind him. Dante Leon and Taylor Pearman round out a deep bracket. A Szczecinski versus Rocha final in Kraków would be the loudest room of the weekend.

88kg lost Bodoni to injury and is now genuinely anyone's division. Jozef Chen is the most talked-about entry, a submission-hunter with an unusual style built around leg entanglements and back takes from odd angles. Pawel Jaworski gives Poland a second real home contender here. Gustavo Batista and Lucas Kanard are both capable of winning it on points. The honest prediction is a close decision in the final, probably going to Chen, but this is the division where a bracket-buster is most likely.

99kg is Duarte's to lose in the division, but the pick for the upset is Declan Moody, a young, huge, physical passer who has been climbing fast. Adam Wardzinski, another Polish contender, is one of the best pure half-guard players in the world and a nightmare for anyone who wants to pass. Luke Griffith brings a slick back-attack game. If Duarte is drained from the absolute, Moody by points is a reasonable call. If not, Duarte adds a fifth title.

At +99kg the reigning champion Felipe Pena is defending, and the man most likely to take it from him is Victor Hugo, who is younger, enormous, and far more mobile than a man his size has any right to be. Hugo has never won ADCC gold and this is the year the prediction flips his way. Haisam Rida is the wildcard, an aggressive, unorthodox heavyweight who can submit anyone or get submitted trying. Dan Manasoiu and Josh Saunders are live too.

The women's divisions are stacked despite there being no women's absolute this year. At 55kg, Mayssa Bastos is the favorite over Ana Mayordomo after reigning double champ Adele Fornarino left for UFC BJJ. Bastos is the best featherweight guard player in the sport and wins the exchanges that matter. At 65kg, defending champion Ana Carolina Vieira faces a hard rematch problem in Sarah Galvao, who beat her at CJI 2 and is the slight pick to take gold this time. At +65kg, Helena Crevar, still remarkably young, runs into Gabi Pessanha, who entered on short notice and is chasing a rare super grand slam. Pessanha is the most dominant heavyweight in women's grappling right now and the pick to win.

The absolute is where Duarte, Hugo, and Pena all collide with no weight limit, and it is the single best watch of the weekend if you only have time for one bracket. Duarte doing 99kg, the absolute, and the superfight in two days is one of the hardest workloads anyone has attempted at this event.

Official brackets and exact first-round matchups drop on September 11, the day before the event. We will update this piece with the real draw and the specific collisions once they are out, and we will have full division-by-division results and a rankings update the week after. For how the results reshuffle the pound-for-pound picture, the Forca Method BJJ rankings get rebuilt after every major event.

How to watch

Both days stream on FloGrappling, starting around 5am US Eastern, 2am Pacific, 10am UK, 11am in Poland. Day one is opening rounds through the quarterfinals. Day two is semifinals, finals, and the superfight. If you are on the US East Coast and not willing to wake up at 5am, the finals block on Sunday afternoon local time lands in the late morning your time, so that is the one to catch live.

FAQ

When and where is ADCC 2026?

September 12 and 13, 2026, at the Tauron Arena in Kraków, Poland. It is the first ADCC World Championship held outside the United States since the event began.

Why aren't the Ruotolo brothers or Nicky Rodriguez competing?

All three signed exclusive contracts with UFC BJJ, which bars them from competing at ADCC. Gordon Ryan and Craig Jones are absent for a different reason, both retired from active competition.

Who is favored to win the superfight?

Kaynan Duarte, on his wrestling and top pressure, but with a real caveat: he is also competing in the 99kg division and the absolute the same weekend. Yuri Simoes has a genuine path if Duarte comes into the superfight worn down.

Is there a women's absolute division this year?

No. The women compete in 55kg, 65kg, and +65kg only. There is no women's absolute at ADCC 2026.

How do I watch it from the United States?

FloGrappling has the stream. Coverage starts near 5am Eastern both days. The Sunday finals and superfight run in the late morning Eastern, which is the most watchable window if you are not getting up before dawn.