ADCC 2026 Preview: Storylines and Athletes to Watch in Krakow

ADCC returns to Europe for the first time since 2017, landing in Krakow at a genuine turning point for the sport. A superfight title that hasn't been vacant in seventeen years is finally up for grabs, longtime champions are aging out of divisions they once owned, and a stacked Trials season already tested most of this field before they ever set foot in the arena. Here's what's actually worth following once the mats go live.

Rivarlies

Every tournament is bound to have some rivalries, but this year has some with real weight, one born out of an absolute final two years ago.

Unfinished business

Kaynan Duarte and Cyborg Abreu have a heated rivalry stemming from the 2024 Worlds. In the absolute final, Duarte guillotined Abreu, picking up a double gold for the tournament and the signature win of his career at Cyborg's expense. Two years later, both are back. Duarte is headlining the superfight, a title left vacant by Gordon Ryan's retirement, and Cyborg is the oldest man in the field at age 45, making them two of the most compelling storylines here even beyond their rivalry. Whether they end up on the same side of the bracket is still an open question, but if their paths cross again, it won't be just another match.

The rematch nobody scheduled

To secure a place at Worlds, Brandon Reed beat Nick Hartman in the East Coast Trials final. That would have been the end of it, except Hartman turned around and competed at the West Coast Trials, finishing four of his five opponents. Both are now qualified for the same event, and if the draw puts them in the same bracket, a rematch is very possible.

The comeback

One athlete in this article has something to prove, and he also happens to be the #1 pound-for-pound no-gi grappler in the entire world.

Dante Leon's chance to close the gap

Dante Leon went into the last ADCC and was eliminated in the first round of his own weight class, 77kg. In that same event, he took third in the absolute division, the open-weight bracket of ADCC Worlds, a much harder path than winning his own weight class. Two years later, Leon walks into this Worlds holding that same #1 ranking, all while running his own program, Adamas Jiu-Jitsu in Toledo, Ohio. The question everyone is asking: will that P4P ranking finally show up at 77kg, or will he get bounced again?

What people gave up to be here

Not every athlete competing this year had a straight path, and many of them had to make sacrifices, whether that meant a second attempt at qualifying, moving up a weight class, or skipping a direct invite just to try and win Trials instead.

Jon Blank, no invite, no shortcut

Jon Blank finished 4th at ADCC in 2019, the same event where he beat Rustam Chsiev and Murilo Santana, but he didn't get a direct invite back this time. So while running his own gym, 10th Planet Allentown, he fought through an entire Trials bracket, submitting every opponent he faced in the medal rounds to earn his invitation to the 2026 Worlds.

Mayssa Bastos, moving up in weight

Bastos already has ten IBJJF world titles; ADCC gold is the one thing missing from her resume. So she moved up a full weight class and is now competing 15 pounds heavier than she normally does. Even with that added disadvantage, she still went 4-0 without conceding a point.

Sarah Galvao, choosing the hard way

Sarah Galvao didn't need to win Trials to get a spot at ADCC, but she decided to do it anyway. She proved exactly why she'd earned that invite, going 5-0 with three submissions and giving up nothing along the way.

The changing of the guard

The ADCC landscape is getting shaken up this year, with a wave of new talent arriving and several longtime champions not returning.

Four empty thrones

Four ADCC champions aren't defending their titles in Krakow this year, which opens up four full divisions for the taking. Adele Fornarino, the 55kg and absolute champion, was pulled from the bracket after booking a UFC BJJ fight. Diogo Reis, a two-time defending champion at 66kg, isn't in the bracket either. At 77kg, Mica Galvao just completed a Super Grand Slam and isn't back to defend it, and at 88kg, Giancarlo Bodoni, who won the division in both 2022 and 2024, is also sitting this one out.

New names moving in

Those champions not returning have created a void that won't be filled easily. Fabricio Andrey, 26, won the South American Trials at 66kg and is becoming a top pick to replace Diogo Reis. Gustavo Batista, 30, won the same regional at 88kg and is getting called one of the most technical grapplers in the division.

Young talent

As well as the old guard moving out, the new guard is rolling in. Achilles Rocha went 5-0 through the East Coast Trials at 19 without giving up a single point. Matilda Reid, an 18-year-old blue belt, beat four older, more experienced grapplers to become the youngest Trials champion of the entire season. As the brackets fill out, expect even more new names to emerge as those vacated titles find new owners.

Other interesting stories

Not every good story here fits a category. There's a family with two generations on the mat, and a country getting its biggest stage back after almost a decade.

Family

Vagner Rocha is 44 and has medaled at four straight ADCC World Championships, including a silver at 77kg in 2024. His son Achilles is 19 years old and qualified for the same event at 99kg, going 5-0 through the East Coast Trials without conceding a single point, including a 15-0 quarterfinal and an 11-0 semifinal. Although they compete in different weight classes, it's still very rare to see a father-son duo at the same event.

Home crowd

Five Poles are on the card this year, fighting in front of a home crowd for the first time since 2017. The most notable name on the list is Adam Wardzinski, who won the first-ever European Grand Slam in 2025, sweeping all four IBJJF competitions in a single calendar year, and then retired. He came out of that retirement specifically because ADCC invited him. Wardzinski isn't chasing a paycheck; he's doing this because he's decided this tournament, in this city, is worth coming back for.

What This Weekend Really Decides

Two days, one arena, and a sport going through a major roster change. Krakow won't just crown champions this weekend; it'll start answering who the next generation actually is.