Day one of ADCC 2026 delivered a full slate of results across the men’s and women’s divisions, with several seeded competitors moving through cleanly while others were sent home early by finishes and close scrambles. The day also saw its share of controversy, headlined by a brawl during the 66kg bracket that ended with Dorian Olivarez disqualified after his involvement.
At 66kg, Diego Pato looked sharp throughout the day, submitting Jakub Wiklacz in the opening round before beating Gianni Grippo by score to reach the semifinals. Kennedy Maciel also impressed, blanking Kamil Wilk 10-0 before advancing again on referee decision over Fabricio Andrey. The bracket’s biggest story, though, was the disqualification of Dorian Olivarez following a brawl that broke out during the event, a development that overshadowed what had otherwise been an 8-0 submission win for him over Bekzat Kapashov. Gavin Corbe and Dominic Mejia rounded out the semifinal picture, with Corbe submitting Ryoma Anraku and Mejia defeating Owen Jones by score.
The 77kg bracket saw Elijah Dorsey pick up a notable submission win over Mateusz Gamrot, while Mateusz Szczecinski needed nearly the full match clock to submit Julio Martins at 14:30. Dante Leon survived a tight, high-scoring battle with Nikolay Vetrov, winning 2-2 on criteria, before falling to Jacob Bornemann by referee decision in the quarterfinals. PJ Barch and Tommy Langaker both moved on with score wins, setting up a semifinal between the two, while Magomed Dzharbaev advanced past Vagner Rocha on referee decision.
At 88kg, Pawel Jaworski continued his run through the bracket, submitting Roberto Frias in the opening round and following it up with a quick submission over Felipe Costa in the quarterfinals. Gabriel Brod and Marlon Tajik both finished their quarterfinal opponents by submission, with Brod submitting Lucas Kanard and Tajik finishing Nathan Haddad. Jozef Chen also advanced, defeating Chris Wojcik by score after both men won their opening matches.
The 99kg division produced some of the day’s most dominant performances. Kaynan Duarte submitted Nico Maglicic before doing the same to Javier Zaruski in the quarterfinals. Daniel Schuardt and Achilles Rocha also picked up multiple submissions on the day, with Rocha’s 12-0 finish over Declan Moody standing out as one of the more lopsided results of the bracket. Luke Griffith advanced with a submission over Marcin Maciulewicz followed by a score win over Steffen Banta.
At +99kg, Felipe Pena looked dominant in both of his matches, submitting Belal Etiabari in the opening round before finishing Nick Hartman in the quarterfinals as well. Victor Hugo also picked up back-to-back submissions, while Josh Saunders and Mark Macqueen advanced by decision to round out the semifinal field.
On the women’s side, Mayssa Bastos and Jasmine Rocha both advanced from the 55kg quarterfinals by submission, while Ana Mayordomo defeated Sheliah Lindsey by score. In the 65kg bracket, Sarah Galvao submitted Livia Barasine, and Joslyn Molina and Ana Carolina Vieira both moved on with score wins. The +65kg division saw Helena Crevar open with a dominant 10-0 submission over Matilda Reid, while Elizabeth Mitrovic and Paige Ivette Clymer also advanced, with Clymer submitting Yara Soares in just over five minutes.
A freelance journalist with more than seven years of experience covering a wide range of topics, with a focus on delivering accurate, engaging, and well-researched reporting. He studied at the University of Birmingham, where he developed a strong foundation in journalism and communications. Martin is a 10th Planet BJJ brown belt and has been training for approximately 10 years and a keen follower of submission grappling.
