Season after season, the athlete roster for the ADCC World Championships has comprised of the best grapplers in the world. Every spot on the ADCC roster has been reserved for the most revered and the most deserving, the most dominant and the most cutting edge.

In the last few editions of ADCC, those trend-setting and standout grapplers have only gotten younger.

In 2017, on just a few days notice, Nicky Ryan became the youngest competitor ever to take the ADCC mats, competing in the 66 kg division as a last minute replacement. He was 16 years old in his ADCC debut, and 18 when he returned in 2019 after a dominant, all-submissions run at the West Coast Trials.

Nicky Ryan wasn’t the only teenager to take the mats at ADCC 2019. Tye Ruotolo made his ADCC debut that year at 16 years old. He was six months shy of breaking Nicky’s record; but he set a record of his own, winning two matches and becoming the youngest competitor to reach the ADCC semifinals.

Tye’s performance earned him a spot at the upcoming ADCC 2022 in September. There, he will be one of five (or more) teenagers invited to compete in the world’s foremost submission wrestling tournament. 

All five of them — Tye Ruotolo, Kade Ruotolo, Micael Galvao, and Cole Abate — will be in the hunt to break records set by Kyra Gracie in 2005, and by Rafa Mendes in 2009. Kyra Gracie currently holds the record for the youngest-ever ADCC champion; she was one day shy of 20 years old when she won the title. Rafa Mendes was the youngest male champion in ADCC history, earning his first ADCC title three months after his 20th birthday.

Aside from Tye Ruotolo, who is already an ADCC veteran, each of the teenagers currently slated to compete at ADCC 2022 have earned their spots via the trials, proving their pedigree against talented and hungry opponents, and leaving no doubts about their worthiness to compete at the World Championships.

The ADCC divisions are deep with talent, and growing deeper by the day. Each of these young stars will be tested by world class talent at every turn. 

But they each have a chance to earn the most coveted title in no-gi grappling, and to make history in the process. 

See the list of athletes confirmed for ADCC 2022 here.

Cole Abate has already earned a spot in the record books, becoming the youngest male competitor to win the ADCC North American Trials in 2021, ten days before his 17th birthday. 

Abate defeated each of his seven opponents in the regulation period and did not concede a point in the process. He amassed three submission wins at trials. Representing Art Of Jiu-Jitsu, Abate could carry on the legacy of his coach, Rafa Mendes.

Abate is currently the youngest athlete to have qualified or been invited to ADCC 2022. He’ll be two months away from 18 years old at the ADCC World Championships. If he wins the 66 kg division there, his performance would automatically make him the youngest champion in history.

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

Both Kade Ruotolo and Mica Galvao will be vying for the record-breaking title in the 77 kg division. It’s set to be one of the most star-studded divisions in the entire tournament, but the division’s youngest competitors should not be counted out. Galvao will be within a month of his 18th birthday at ADCC, but he’s proven time and again that he’s capable of defeating accomplished black belts. In 2021, Galvao defeated three ADCC veterans over a two day period. And his performance at the 2nd South American Trials was unfathomable; he submitted each of his four opponents with a total mat time of 5 minutes, 9 seconds. No match surpassed two minutes.

19-year old Kade Ruotolo is the top-ranked grappler at 155 lbs, and the no.2 pound for pound. He went 7-0 in one of the most grueling divisions at the 1st North American ADCC Trials. Since 2020, he’s defeated three ADCC veterans.

If either Galvao or Ruotolo wins the 77 kg division, they will usurp Marcelo Garcia as the division’s youngest champion. Garcia was 20-years old when he won his first title in 2003.

Tye Ruotolo has already proven that he can be a contender at ADCC. He took fourth place in the 66 kg category at 16-years old in 2019. He’ll be 19 at the upcoming ADCC, where he’s slated to compete in the 88 kg division. The nearly 50 lb increase could test Ruotolo, but he’s grown both physically and technically in the last three years. In the 88 kg division, he could run into hammers like Matheus Diniz, Craig Jones, Josh Hinger and Xande Ribeiro, but Ruotolo has already proven his capacity to defy the odds.

Check out the ADCC Qualifiers Power Rankings here.