By Philipp — Rollbook · Updated October 18, 2026
ADCC 2026 Schedule: Trials, Worlds Results & What's Next
The complete ADCC 2026 cycle, from the first Trials in 2025 to the World Championship in Krakow (September 12-13, 2026), with the champions and what comes next. ADCC 2028 and its Trials have not been announced yet.
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Update (October 2026): The 2026 ADCC cycle is complete. All eight Trials ran, and the World Championship took place as scheduled on September 12-13 at TAURON Arena Krakow. Felipe Pena won the absolute for a record second time, and Yuri Simoes won the superfight. Every result is in our ADCC 2026 results and champions post. ADCC has not yet announced the host city or dates for ADCC 2028, or any Trials dates for the next cycle.
ADCC 2026 Schedule
The Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Fighting World Championship is the most prestigious no-gi grappling event in the world. Held every two years, the 2026 edition in Krakow, Poland, offered $362,000 in prize money and an invitation-only field of 104 of the planet's best submission grapplers.
This guide covers the complete 2026 cycle as it happened: every Trials event, the World Championship, and what comes next. For the gi competition calendar, see the 2026 IBJJF tournament schedule.
ADCC 2026 World Championship (Completed)
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event | ADCC World Championship 2026 |
| Dates | September 12-13, 2026 (completed) |
| Amateur Worlds | September 11, 2026 (completed) |
| Venue | TAURON Arena Krakow |
| Location | Krakow, Poland |
| Prize Money | $362,000 total |
| Absolute champion | Felipe Pena |
| Superfight | Yuri Simoes def. Kaynan Duarte |
| Replays | FloGrappling |
The World Championship closed the 2025-2026 qualification cycle. The weight-class champions were Kennedy Maciel (-66 kg), Magomed Dzharbaev (-77 kg), Pawel Jaworski (-88 kg), Luke Griffith (-99 kg) and Victor Hugo (+99 kg), with Jasmine Rocha (-55 kg), Ana Carolina Vieira (-65 kg) and Helena Crevar (+65 kg) in the women's divisions (FloGrappling). Runners-up, how each final ended and the storylines are in our ADCC 2026 results and champions post. For the venue, format and the full prize-money breakdown, see the ADCC 2026 World Championship guide.
Did You Know: ADCC only happens every two years, making each edition a landmark event. Krakow 2026 was the first ADCC World Championship held in Poland, though not the first in Europe, which had hosted in Barcelona (2009), Nottingham (2011) and Espoo (2017). Poland got its first ADCC champion on home soil: Pawel Jaworski at -88 kg.
Complete ADCC 2026 Trials Calendar
ADCC Trials are open-entry tournaments where competitors earn their spot at the World Championship. Win your weight class, and you qualify. No belt requirements, no ranking prerequisites -- just win.
Completed Trials — the Full 2025-2026 Cycle
All eight qualifying events are done. The cycle closed with the 2nd Asia & Oceania Trials on Australia's Gold Coast on June 21, 2026.
| Event | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Asia and Oceania Trials | March 2025 | — |
| 1st EMEA Trials | September 2025 | Warsaw, Poland |
| 1st NA East Coast Trials | November 2025 | Orlando, FL |
| 2nd EMEA Trials | February 2026 | Belgrade, Serbia |
| 1st South American Trials | March 13, 2026 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| 2nd South American Trials | March 21, 2026 | Indaiatuba (São Paulo), Brazil |
| 2nd NA West Coast Trials | April 18-19, 2026 | Pomona, CA |
| 2nd Asia and Oceania Trials | June 21, 2026 | Carrara, QLD, Australia |
The final field was five men's divisions of 16 and three women's divisions of 8. Late withdrawals changed several spots in the final weeks, including defending +65 kg champion Rafaela Guedes. One replacement, Gavin Corbe, entered on 11 days' notice and won silver at -66 kg. The complete division-by-division list of qualifiers and invitees, and how each of them fared, is in our ADCC 2026 qualified athletes tracker. For the Pomona storylines specifically — Gianni Grippo's 11-year ADCC return, Nathan Haddad's 6-0 semifinal comeback, Sheliah Lindsey's submission run — see our ADCC North American Trials 2026 recap.
Key Dates: The 2026 Cycle and What's Next
| Date | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|
| March 2025 – June 21, 2026 | Eight ADCC Trials | Completed |
| September 11, 2026 | ADCC Amateur World Championship (Krakow) | Completed |
| September 12-13, 2026 | ADCC World Championship (Krakow) | Completed — results |
| 2028 | ADCC World Championship host city and dates | Not yet announced |
| Next cycle | Trials for ADCC 2028 | Not yet announced |
With the 2026 World Championship done, the next ADCC dates to watch for are the 2028 host city and the first Trials of the new cycle. Neither has been announced yet. ADCC's regional opens keep running in the meantime: FloGrappling's schedule lists the ADCC Vancouver Open (October 24), the ADCC Caracas Open (October 31) and the ADCC Brazilian Nationals (November 7-8).
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ADCC vs IBJJF: How the 2026 Season Played Out
Many competitors balance both ADCC and IBJJF events. Here is how the major 2026 events lined up:
| Month | IBJJF | ADCC |
|---|---|---|
| January | European Championship (Lisbon) — done | -- |
| March | Pan Championship (Kissimmee, FL) — done | 1st and 2nd SA Trials (Brazil) — done |
| April | -- | 2nd NA Trials (Pomona, CA) — done |
| May | World Championship (Long Beach) — done | -- |
| June | -- | 2nd Asia & Oceania Trials (Australia) — done |
| September | Master Worlds (Las Vegas, Sept 3-5) — done | World Championship (Krakow, Sept 12-13) — done |
| October | Pan No-Gi (Secaucus, NJ, Oct 2-4) — done | -- |
| Oct-Nov | European No-Gi (Rome, Oct 28-Nov 1) — upcoming | -- |
| December | No-Gi Worlds (Las Vegas, Dec 10-12) — upcoming | -- |
Pro Tip: ADCC medalists went straight into the IBJJF no-gi season. Pawel Jaworski won double gold and Helena Crevar won her division at the Pan No-Gi, three weeks after Krakow. If you compete under both rulesets, the rule differences matter as much as the calendar. See ADCC vs IBJJF rules compared, then our guides to the IBJJF European No-Gi and the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds.
For the gi side of next year, see our IBJJF 2027 calendar of dates confirmed so far.
Qualification Pathways
ADCC uses a dual qualification system:
Continental Trials (~50% of spots)
- Open-entry tournaments held across four regions
- Full ADCC rules: no points in the first half, guard pull penalty, all submissions legal
- Win your weight class to earn a World Championship invitation
- Multiple events per region in each qualification cycle
Direct Invitations (~50% of spots)
- ADCC invites elite grapplers based on competitive achievements
- Previous ADCC performances, major titles, and divisional balance
- Invitations typically announced in the months before Worlds
For who qualified for 2026 and how they fared in Krakow, see our ADCC 2026 qualified athletes tracker.
Weight Classes
Men's Divisions
| Division | Limit |
|---|---|
| Division 1 | Under 66 kg (145.2 lbs) |
| Division 2 | Under 77 kg (169.8 lbs) |
| Division 3 | Under 88 kg (194 lbs) |
| Division 4 | Under 99 kg (218.3 lbs) |
| Division 5 | Over 99 kg (218.3 lbs) |
| Absolute | No weight limit |
Women's Divisions
| Division | Limit |
|---|---|
| Division 1 | Under 55 kg (121.3 lbs) |
| Division 2 | Under 65 kg (143.3 lbs) |
| Division 3 | Over 65 kg (143.3 lbs) |
For IBJJF weight classes (which differ from ADCC), see the IBJJF weight classes guide.
Watching the Replays
FloGrappling is ADCC's official broadcast partner and has replays of the 2026 World Championship and the Amateur Worlds (subscription required). The live sessions started at 5 a.m. ET (11:00 CEST) on both days. Our ADCC 2026 how-to-watch guide has the details and the matches worth starting with.
Preparing for ADCC Competition
Training for ADCC rules requires specific preparation that differs from IBJJF competition:
- Wrestling is essential — the guard pull penalty (-1 point) changes everything
- Leg locks are central — heel hooks and leg lock systems are a core part of ADCC competition
- Submission-first mentality — no points in the first half means only finishes matter early. In Krakow, 50 of 103 matches outside the absolute ended in a submission (BJJ Heroes)
- Conditioning for long matches — World Championship rounds run 10 minutes plus overtime and finals run 20, and at least three Krakow finals went to overtime. Build endurance with a solid BJJ conditioning program
Key Takeaway
The 2026 ADCC cycle is complete: eight Trials, a 104-athlete World Championship in Krakow, and a record second absolute title for Felipe Pena. The host city and dates for ADCC 2028, and the next cycle's Trials, have not been announced yet. Until they are, the next major no-gi championships on the calendar are the IBJJF European No-Gi (October 28-November 1) and the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds (December 10-12).
Official Sources
- ADCC Official Website - Event news, Trials and qualification information
- Smoothcomp - ADCC Trials and Open registration
- FloGrappling: ADCC 2026 Results - Full brackets and medal placements
- FloGrappling - Official streaming, replays and coverage
Planning your next grappling season? Use Rollbook to log your no-gi sessions, see which techniques you drill most and which have gone stale, and map your game plan as a System before your next tournament. Rollbook is free on iOS and Android.
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