A Look Back at Beatriz Mesquita's 100% Submission Rate ADCC Conquest
A Look Back at Beatriz Mesquita's 100% Submission Rate ADCC Conquest
Beatriz Mesquita is the GOAT of women’s jiu-jitsu, and her ADCC 2017 run is nothing short of perfection.
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Beatriz Mesquita is the GOAT of women’s jiu-jitsu. No, seriously– we crunched the numbers, and it's indisputable.
Winning every major tournament in gi and no-gi isn’t by accident. The Leticia Ribeiro black belt is well-rounded, can play for points if necessary, and aggressively hunts for submissions from all positions. Her ADCC gold medal run was no different.
Watch the Supercut of Bia's 2017 ADCC Gold Medal Performance
Mesquita finished all three of her opponents in regulation (women's brackets at ADCC feature eight athletes instead of 16) in a variety of methods. She submitted Bianca Basilio with a RNC, Nicolini with a calf slicer, and yet-to-become superstar Ffion Davies with an armbar in the first round.
Key Stats
| Opponent | Div/Abs | Method | Match Time | Pts for | Pts Agst |
| Ffion Davies | 60kg | Armbar | 5:00 | 0 | 0 |
| Michelle Nicolini | 60kg | Calf Slicer | 5:40 | 0 | 0 |
| Bianca Basilio | 60kg | RNC | 18:46 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 29.26 | 3 | 0 |
Per usual, the stats don't tell the whole story and the real highlight of Bia's game is her versatility and mastery of fundamental, "basic" jiu-jitsu.
Let's examine her finish of Ffion:
How many closed guard armbars do we see in high-level competition?
Not many, especially in no-gi. Bia makes clever use of the body triangle, cupping the back of the head, and the "pit-stop" position to completely dominant Davies' posture. If you watched the supercut you'd also remember that Bia had to literally pry open Ffion's feet with her chin to get the finish, demonstrating elite awareness of body mechanics and the creativity to get the job done.
Bia's match with Nicolini again points to Bia's creativity; she finished the match with the rarely seen calf slicer from seated guard.
Unfortunately, the camera angle isn't great, but Bia gets the tap.
Mesquita's Wrestling: Enough to Get The Job Done
Though Mesquita technically didn't put any points on the board with her wrestling, she did get the final match to the ground and obtain the back through persistent use of duck under and body lock.
The beginning of the end of the 60kg final. Bia got the back and finished with RNC shortly after.
In summation: Bia Mesquita is an all-round grappler: she can attack from guard, wrestle on the feet, and crush her opponents with top control when she needs to. More than that, she wants the finish and takes her submissions from all angles. She should absolutely be considered the favorite coming into ADCC 2019.
Watch all of Bia Mesquita's Match from ADCC 2017.