2024 ADCC World Championships Presented by FloGrappling

The Top Teammate vs Teammate Matchups To Watch At ADCC 2024

We break down who the most high profile athletes who are going to need to fight a familiar face on day one when teammates must fight at 2024 ADCC.

Jul 19, 2024 by Joe Gilpin

The Top Teammate vs Teammate Matchups To Watch At ADCC 2024

Every two years, one of the most brutal parts of ADCC is the policy around teammates in the same bracket - they must meet no later than the quarterfinals, to make sure there aren't any closeouts or conflicts of interest in the semifinals or finals. With grappling talent so condensed to a few select teams at the elite levels, it's common that a bracket will have at least one pair of teammates who will meet first or second round (or first round for the women).

In the 2024 brackets, these are the top teammate on teammate matchups to watch out for -

+99kg - Dan Manasoiu vs Luke Griffith, New Wave Jiu-Jitsu

The two young big men of New Wave are now on a collision course in the +99kg bracket, as Luke and Big Dan will have to meet on day one of the tournament. I'm assuming they won't be up first, meaning it will be the quarterfinal. They are close friends and training partners and even cornered each other at the European Trials.

-66kg - Kennedy Maciel vs Fabricio Andrey, Alliance

Even though they aren't training partners, both Fabricio and Kennedy represent Alliance and should be expecting a day one matchup - likely a quarterfinal. These two seem more than happy with that, having been fired up for a meeting at IBJJF Worlds that didn't end up happening. This one seems as personal as any matchup on this list.

-55kg - Mayssa Bastos vs Margot Ciccarelli, Art of Jiu-Jitsu

Margot and Mayssa are two very dynamic grapplers who are already basically locked into their first round match - these two AOJ grapplers must face off first because of the smaller size of the women's brackets. This is the first year of the -55kg division's existence and that bodes well for Bastos but she is still small for the weight. It remains to be seen if Trials winner and IBJJF World medalist Ciccarelli can take advantage using her notable game-planning skills.

-77kg - Davi Ramos vs Jonnatas Gracie, Atos Jiu-Jitsu

It's been a while since Davi fought in jiu-jitsu but the UFC veteran is a long-time Atos representative, so I am assuming that will remain consistent when he returns at ADCC. Unfortunately that does mean he will need to be drawn into the same quarter as Jonnatas Gracie, an Atos HQ grappler and instructor. That's a really interesting matchup between two physical brutes at -77kg, and it's one that we could potentially see first round.

-66kg - Diogo 'Baby Shark' Reis vs Kaua Gabriel, Melqui Galvao Jiu-Jitsu

These two kids from Manaus will potentially have to meet early on. Kaua is one of the most unknown guys in the bracket but he's lethal with his footlocks and made two Trials finals in South America this year. He trains every day with the Melqui Galvao kids, one of the most talent-rich rooms for lightweight grapplers in the world, and with the returning ADCC Champion Diogo Reis. If those two meet, it's likely still Diogo with the edge but crazy things happen at ADCC and to compete on this stage will be huge for Kaua regardless.

-55kg - Adele Fornarino vs Alex Enriquez, Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Our final inclusion will be between two of the toughest up-and-coming women's grapplers in the world, Enriquez and Fornarino. Both are already highly ranked in their short black belt careers and figure to make deep runs here at -55kg. First round though, they should expect to face one another as they both represent Atos. They don't actually train together, with Adele splitting time between Atos HQ and Dominance MMA with David Hart (himself an ADCC vet) and Alex training and fighting out of Atos in Atlanta, led by Bruno Frazzato. Still, they are both teammates and the rules say that they must face off first round.