ADCC 2026 fight card: 3 ADCC champs out, no UFC BJJ champs, but wanted rape suspect still in?
· Yahoo Sports
After another two year cycle, the highly anticipated 2026 ADCC World Championships is coming up on September for a two-day event in Krakow, Poland. The most prestigious no gi promotion has since announced the complete list of competitors for the biennial event, including a new main event.
While the event will again have a deep roster of world champions and several Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) world champions there are a few notable superstars who have either dropped out, or ultimately didn’t receive — or accept — invites. There’s also one particularly controversial invite being called out by some of the biggest BJJ stars.
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Gordon Ryan officially out, Duarte vs. Simoes ADCC 2026 super fight set
With Gordon Ryan’s retirement, the headlining “super fight” for ADCC 2026 will now be Kaynan Duarte vs. Yuri Simoes. Duarte won double ADCC gold in 2024, which should’ve earned him a shot at Ryan, but this would now instead be a title match between the last two ADCC absolute champions.
Simoes won the open-weight division in 2022 for his third ADCC world title, then lost by points in his 2024 super-fight against Ryan.
The pair already previously faced off back in ADCC 2019, with Duarte winning by points in the over 99 kg semi-finals, before going on to win the tournament and take his first of four ADCC world titles.
3 ADCC champs no longer returning?
Officials previously announced that every reigning champion would be returning to try and defend their titles at ADCC 2026, but the latest update had four notable changes on that front. Reigning champions from 66 kg, 77 kg and 88 kg are all out, with the promotion removing Diogo Reis, Mica Galvao, and Giancarlo Bodoni from the official list of competitors. West Coast Trials winner Elder Cruz has also been unlisted.
There have been since been four more grapplers with discretionary invites added to their divisions after Cruz and the three ADCC champions were removed from the list.
Reis and Galvao have been teammates, and while there’s a chance things could still change over the next few weeks, their absence could be in part related to the disarray from their original gym. Melqui Galvao, their now former head coach — and Mica’s father — was arrested in April, with several young students coming forward and accusing the decorated BJJ coach of rape and abuse of minors from their academy. Reis left BJJ College after the arrest, noting how the disturbing details made staying with the team “unbearable.”
The reigning ADCC 77 kg champ in Galvao noted that he has been trying to “find himself” after the fallout of his father’s arrest, but he has recently returned to competition to take double gold at an IBJJF Open.
UFC BJJ champs, Ruotolo brothers among notable ADCC 2026 absences
ADCC 2026 will still have a stacked and promising list of competitors for these nine tournaments, but there are also a few notable big names absent. ADCC and CJI champ Kade Ruotolo and his twin Tye Ruotolo aren’t listed, despite the two stars competing multiple times since 2019. CJI champ Nick Rodriguez also isn’t joining. Mikey Musumecinever planned to compete in ADCC, but none of the other UFC BJJ champions are also listed either.
It’s unclear which of these top BJJ stars weren’t invited or if they just did not (or could not) accept, but it’s worth noting how UFC BJJ exec Claudia Gadelha announced that they planned to strictly enforce their exclusive contracts. The Ruotolo brothers also have exclusive deals with ONE Championship, but the promotion has normally allowed their grapplers to compete in events like ADCC or CJI.
Craig Jones calls for ADCC 2026 boycott after wanted rape suspect Izaak Michell still on invite list
Izaak Michell won the 2025 ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials to previously earn a spot at ADCC 2026, but there have been calls for his removal for months, after he has been on the run from police for allegedly sexually assaulting multiple women.
Michell was still included on the recently updated list of official ADCC 2026 invites, which has again sparked massive controversy in the jiu-jitsu community. Several BJJ personalities have spoken out, including grappling star turned promoter Craig Jones calling for a boycott.
“Can someone explain to me why Izaak Michell, wanted allegedly for sex offenses in the United States, is getting a paid vacation to compete in Poland? And why that’s a tough decision to not allow him in the tournament?” CJI promoter Craig Jones said on social media. “If he has affected you, or anyone in your life, and you are not boycotting the event… what the f— is going on?”
“Hey, sponsors, say something! Hey, streaming platforms, maybe f—ng say something! Hey, the promoter of the event, maybe say something! Because there’s a great likelihood that there’s a f—ng victim there,” Jones exclaimed.
Michell was removed from Gordon Ryan’s Kingsway gym at the end of 2025, with one of the BJJ champions from the team publicly accusing him of sexual assault.
Multiple women reportedly stepped forward after, leading to an arrest warrant for “second degree sexual assault” being issued in Texas. A wanted poster with a $1,000 reward for information has also been released, but Michell has avoided arrest for months, and has reportedly been moving around in Australia. Local police can’t act on the warrant without a US extradition request, and Australian outlet 10 News+ reports that Michell also has additional cases and allegations in the country as well.
Although the final roster could still be changed ahead of the September 12-13 event, as of this writing, ADCC has yet to comment on the situation and still has Michell listed on their website among the confirmed ADCC 2026 invites.
The official and complete ADCC 2026 fight card can be found here.
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