For two weeks during the Summer Olympic Games, athletes in a variety of sports become overnight sensations and stake their claim as the best in the world at their sport. 

For jiu-jitsu athletes, their chance to own the spotlight doesn’t happen every four years. It happens every two years at the ADCC World Championships. 

“This is the grandest stage,” said FloGrappling analyst and reporter Joe Gilpin. “This is Super Bowl. This is the World Series. This is everything these grapplers dream about. Their careers are defined in ADCCs and the results and the performances that they can have at these tournaments – the rest is practice.” 

The 2024 ADCC World Championship begins on Aug. 17 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. New champions will be crowned on Aug. 18. The tournament includes five men’s weight class divisions, three women's weight class divisions, two Absolute divisions and two Super Fights that will both include the No. 1 no-gi grappler in the world. 

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In short, despite the fluidity in the field over the last few months, the 2024 ADCC World Championship is still the most challenging and prestigious tournament in the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And it’s streaming live on FloGrappling and the FloSports app.

Here’s why BJJ fans should watch the ADCC World Championship. 

Qualifying For ADCC World Championships Is As Difficult As The Tournament Itself

Unlike many tournaments, not just any athlete can qualify for ADCC World Championship. Half the athletes in each division are invited based on previous performances at ADCC, ADCC-affiliated events or have an established reputation as a top of the world grappling athlete. The other half half have to qualify via one of the most grueling processes there are, the ADCC Trials. 

There are eight trials between ADCC World Championships in four different regions throughout the world. 

“Qualifying for the ADCC Worlds is a lot of times even more difficult than coming and doing very well at the tournament,” Gilpin said. “These brackets are so deep and it’s such a life-changing opportunity for so many. People will battle with everything they have just to be able to qualify, just to be able to have a shot at qualifying. 

"These talent pools are so deep, the games and styles are so diverse that for people to be able to get to (the ADCC World Championship),already qualifies them and sets them up as one of the greatest on earth.”

All Eyes Will Be On The -66KG ADCC World Championship Bracket

The most anticipated bracket at ADCC World Championship might not be the -99KG or +99KG, or even the Absolute tournaments. 

Led by the first WNO Double Champ, Diego “Pato” Oliveira, the -66KG weight class is as stacked as any ADCC weight class has been in years.

“I would have to say that the -66KG division is probably the deepest at this tournament,” Gilpin said. “It is stacked with so many different kinds of grapplers that all perform their style at the absolute highest level. That there’s so many different ways that this can mix together, but every single way that it could mix together, is almost guaranteed to produce some incredible action from the very first round on.

“There’s a lot of established stars. There’s a few exciting up and comers and dark horses that we’re going to learn a lot about. It’s an absolute meat-grinder of a division. 

"It’s almost cruel to these guys that we’re sending them all in to have to fight each other. But one guy is going to emerge as the absolute best on earth and one of the pound-for-pound top guys on the planet.”

The Dangerous Pato Oliveira Has ADCC Absolute Hopes

No one knows just who or what the Absolute field will be at the ADCC World Championship, but there is a belief that Oliveira is going to be in the field and could do some major damage. 

“The craziest thing you’re gonna see from the Absolute bracket is I think we have a better chance coming in than ever before to have someone who is much smaller than usual medal in the Absolute. Diego Pato is somebody I think has a chance to become the first-ever -66KG division athlete to medal in the Absolute. 

“He’s that lethal with his leglocks and submission prowess, that I think that there’s is no one in this tournament he can not submit.”

Though he is in the lightest weight class, Pato may be the most feared grappler in Las Vegas this weekend. 

“When you face Pato, there is an honest chance that you will not walk right after the match,” Gilpin said. “There are athletes I can point to in this tournament whose entire lives will be different because of things Pato did to them.”

But it’s not just Pato who could carry the flag for the smaller grapplers in the Absolute. Dante Leon in the -77KG also has a chance in the Absolute.

“Dante’s really established his reputation as one of the toughest dudes in the sport over the last few years by taking on and defeating guys who are much larger than him,” Gilpin said. “And not just anyone, too. Real champions.”

Mica Galvao Is Making The Case For 2024 Grappler Of The Year

Gilpin said that Mica Galvao, in the -77KG weight class, is the grappler to watch if fans are looking for the best submission of the tournament (Garry Tonan isn’t that far behind him, Gilpin added). And it shouldn’t be that surprising to hear Galvao’s name. 

He is arguably the best grappler in 2024 and the closest BJJ star to unseating Gordon Ryan as the No. 1 no-gi pound-for-pound grappler in the world.

“Mica is trying to accomplish something that’s only ever been done once before,” Gilpin said. “He’s trying to become the second person ever to win all four IBJJF majors and an ADCC World title in the same year.”

Only Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles has accomplished that before. Charles, though, accomplished this feat as a capstone to a career that included three straight ADCC World Championships in the -66KG. 

“For Mica, it’s really just the beginning of his career,” Gilpin said of the 20-year-old. “He’s spending 2024 really announcing himself as probably the top pound-for-pound guy, regardless of style,  if he is able to do this. 

“It is a stunning declaration of dominance for someone who is still so very young in his grappling career.”

Endurance Is Everything At ADCC World Championships

The two-day tournament may not be as long as some IBJJF Grand Slams, but the intensity over the two dayst is one of the reasons the ADCC World Championship is so prestigious. 

“There are certain grapplers in this tournament that I think if you ran the tournament 100 times would never be able to win it, despite having a very high-level of skill,” Gilpin said. “Simply because they can’t manage to go that 20, or 40 minutes that this requires. 

“It is a grueling experience to go through a match for that long against somebody who is that good. It is something that will set you apart as a champion: Just the idea that you’re able to keep going for that long. 

"It is a marathon, but every once in a while you have to start sprinting and you have to completely empty the tank. And then you have to find a way to keep going while one of the baddest people on Earth is trying to break every limb on your body.” 

2024 ADCC World Championships Will Feature The Return Of  Women’s Absolute Bracket

The Women’s Absolute bracket at ADCC World Championships hasn’t be done since 2007 when Hannette Staack won it. Staack won the -67KG bracket then went on to win the Absolute. She won it two years after Juliana Borges won the first Absolute Women’s bracket. 

Now it’s back in 2024. 

“Because it’s so new and we’re not used to seeing how these brackets play out in the women’s, it’s going to be interesting to see just what kind of dynamic takes charge,” Gilpin said. “This might be the kind of year where all the bigger people all the smaller people. It might be the kind of year where things are very mixed and varied. There’s no way to tell until we get out there.”

Two ADCC Super Fights Are On Tap

Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena will grapple in the first of two Super Fights on Aug. 17. The next day, Ryan, a four-time ADCC World Champion who won the 2019 Absolute title, will face the 2022 Absolute champion, Yuri Simoes.

"Yuri is a future Hall of Famer," Gilpin said. "He's a champion, and most importantly he is a winner - and with only one match to focus on at ADCC he believes he has the formula to do it."

ADCC World Championship Tickets 

The ADCC World Championship begins on Aug. 17 and ends Aug. 18. The event starts at 1 p.m. EST on both days. Tickets can be purchases here.  

When Will The ADCC 2024 Brackets Be Revealed? On Aug. 16

The ADCC World Championship brackets will be released during the second hour of the ADCC Hall of Fame and Bracket reveal show streaming on FloGrappling and the FloSports app at 9 p.m. EST. 

How To Watch The 2024 ADCC World Championship

The 2024 ADCC World Championship will be streaming live in the United States on FloGrappling and the FloSports app. 

Replays, highlights and news also will be available on both platforms.

ADCC Las Vegas Schedule

• August 15: ADCC Las Vegas Open at 12 PM ET 
• August 16: ADCC Youth Championships starting at 12 PM ET 
• August 16: ADCC World Bracket Reveal and Hall of Fame Show starting at 9 PM ET 
• August 17: ADCC Worlds Opening Rounds and Gordon Ryan vs Felipe Pena Superfight starting at 1PM ET 
• August 18: ADCC Worlds Semi-Finals, Finals, Absolute Bracket and Gordon Ryan vs Yuri Simoes Superfight starting at 1PM ET

ADCC Bracket Predictions

Here are the ADCC World Championship Bracket predictions from FloGrappling: 

Women's Brackets 

• FloGrappling Analysts Predict How The ADCC -55kg Bracket Will Be Seeded
• FloGrappling Analysts Predict How The ADCC -65kg Bracket Will Be Seeded
• FloGrappling Analysts Predict How The ADCC +65kg Bracket Will Be Seeded

Men's Brackets

• FloGrappling Analysts Predict How The ADCC 66kg Bracket Will Be Seeded
• FloGrappling Analysts Predict How The ADCC 77kg Bracket Will Be Seeded
• FloGrappling Analysts Predict How The ADCC 88kg Bracket Will Be Seeded
• FloGrappling Analysts Predict How The ADCC -99kg Bracket Will Be Seeded

Once brackets are revealed, track them at FloArena. 

Watch BJJ On FloGrappling

FloGrappling is the streaming home to the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu events and news coverage. FloGrappling is the streaming home of: 

• ADCC
• IBJJF
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• Fight to Win
• And more!

Don't Miss IBJJF World Championships And ADCC World Championships On FloGrappling

In May 2024, FloGrappling is streaming the fourth and final Grand Slam event on the IBJJF Calendar in California.  

In August 2024, FloGrappling is streaming the ADCC World Championships. The bi-annual tournament returns to Las Vegas. 

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