With 2024 coming to a close, it's time to reflect on one of the biggest years in grappling history. There was so much great action and so many elite athletes putting on incredible performances that we expanded our pool of nominees to eight - eight men who exemplified the highest level of the sport.

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Each of these men are athletes who were able to achieve at the highest levels of the sport while still fighting in an exciting, fan-friendly way. Here are our 8 nominees - and a little about their year;

Adam Wardzinski, CheckMat

This was a Cinderella year for the Polish Powerhouse, as Adam Wardzinski took that final major step in his career and won World gold - the first European man to ever do so. He did it with all submissions and then followed that up by winning The Crown. Adam had found himself in a cycle where he would come to Worlds every year and stumble - so winning it all this year really resonated with fans as his perseverance paid off in the Pyramid.

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Dante Leon, Pedigo Submission Fighting/Adamas Jiu-Jitsu

Dante is one of the most consistently impressive grapplers in the game, constantly adding to his game, taking on new challenges, and winning in big moments. His biggest result of the year was certainly the ADCC absolute, where he took bronze after beating the -77kg and -88kg champions. Dante finished his year by debuting for ONE Grappling, where hopefully we can watch him in some big matchups.

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Diego Pato, Art of Jiu-Jitsu

Diego 'Pato' Oliveira continues to be one of the most active, aggressive athletes in jiu-jitsu and we have moved on from just being in 'the year of the duck' - he's here to stay. We are in the duck dynasty. Pato won major titles in the gi this year when he claimed gold at both the World Championships, Pan Championships, and The Crown for IBJJF. Pato also became a WNO double champion with a submission win over Dante Leon and a title defense over Fabricio Andrey. Pato took home silver from the 2024 ADCC World Championships, his second medal at the tournament.

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Gordon Ryan, New Wave Jiu-Jitsu

Another year with the King reigning on top. Gordon took on a new challenge in 2024, doing two consecutive defenses of his super fight championship and picking up major wins over Felipe Pena and Yuri Simôes - including setting a super fight points record against Yuri. Gordon also defended his WNO Heavyweight Championship against Josh Saunders in June, winning by submission.

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Kade Ruotolo, Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Kade Ruotolo used 2024 to begin his transition into MMA - starting with a few highlight reel finishes - but he kept active in jiu-jitsu in 2024 by winning what some are calling the best bracket ever at the Craig Jones Invitational. After grueling matches with guys like Andrew Tackett and Levi Jones-Leary, Kade claimed the $1 million prize in a stunning accomplishment for the young veteran. In addition to CJI, Kade also defended his ONE belt against Tommy Langaker and Francisco Lo and made his gi return by beating Natan Cheung in a super fight.

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Kaynan Duarte, Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Kaynan has been at the top of the game for a while now but he took another step forward in 2024, focusing on no-gi and taking home double gold at the ADCC World Championships. In one of the most dominant runs we have ever seen, he submitted seven of his eight opponents there - mainly showing off his new lethal guillotine system. Earlier in the year, Kaynan also won the IBJJF No-Gi Grand Prix, beating Giancarlo Bodoni in the finals. He finished his year by beating Roberto Jimenez in the main event of WNO 25.

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Mica Galvão, Melqui Galvão Jiu-Jitsu

Mica set a lofty goal early in 2024 and saw it through - becoming the youngest person to ever win the Super Grand Slam. That means he won every IBJJF major (Europeans, Pans, Brasileiros, and Worlds) and then also winning ADCC in that same year. At only 20 years old, he accomplished the incredible. In addition to these matches, he also defeated ADCC World Champion Davi Ramos and ADCC veteran Kenta Iwamoto in super fight action. As we move into 2025, Mica has been hinting at a possible move to MMA.

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Nick Rodriguez, The B-Team

The Million Dollar Grappler had a 2024 that changed his career, taking home one of the two main prizes from inaugural Craig Jones Invitational. With that dominant run, he took home one million dollars in prize money - a first for any competitor from a single competition. In addition to CJI, he was successful on the FPI stage, winning against Roberto Jimenez and Mason Fowler.

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