ADCC 2026 Krakow: Victor Hugo Retires a Champion | No-Gi Weekly Sep 7–13

The biggest weekend in no-gi grappling just wrapped up. The 2026 ADCC World Championships in Krakow, Poland delivered everything the sport promised: nine new world champions, a four-submission retirement, a 13th-seed Cinderella run, and a historic women’s two-peat. Here is everything worth knowing from a week that will echo for years.

ADCC 2026 Krakow: Full Results

September 12–13, Tauron Arena, Krakow, Poland. 104 athletes. Nine weight classes. Nine submissions in the finals alone. Here are your 2026 ADCC World Champions:

Division	Champion	Country	Method
Men’s -66kg	Kennedy Maciel	Brazil	Decision
Men’s -77kg	Magomed Dzharbaev	Russia	Decision
Men’s -88kg	Pawel Jaworski	Poland	1-0 penalty
Men’s -99kg	Luke Griffith	South Africa	Rear naked choke (14:47)
Men’s +99kg	Victor Hugo	Brazil	Shoulder lock (8:49)
Women’s -55kg	Jasmine Rocha	USA	Rear naked choke (25:09)
Women’s -65kg	Ana Carolina Vieira	Brazil	Submission (32:29 OT)
Women’s +65kg	Helena Crevar	USA	Submission (6:04)

Victor Hugo: Four Submissions, One Title, Then Goodbye

Victor Hugo arrived in Krakow as one of the most dangerous +99kg grapplers alive. He left as champion — and announced his retirement from ADCC competition in the same breath. It was one of the most dramatic exits the sport has ever seen.

Hugo’s path through the bracket was brutally efficient. Heel hook over Heikki Jussila in the first round. Rear naked choke on Abdulaev Ruslan in the quarters. Leg-lock finish over Mark Macqueen in the semis. Shoulder lock on Josh Saunders at 8:49 in the final. Four matches. Four submissions. Four men tapped.

Saunders himself had pulled off a significant upset to reach that final, eliminating number-one seed Felipe Pena in the semis. Hugo handled him methodically. Read more about Hugo’s retirement announcement on FloGrappling if you want the full post-fight statement.

His retirement closes a chapter in +99kg no-gi grappling. But he goes out on top — the only way worth going.

Luke Griffith Submits Kaynan Duarte for the 99kg Gold

Kaynan Duarte entered Krakow as the man to beat at -99kg. The 2024 double-gold medalist — who also competed in the weekend’s superfight — was the overwhelming favorite. Luke Griffith had other ideas.

The South African, who finished as the +99kg runner-up in 2024, dropped a weight class for this cycle and opened his bracket with a rear naked choke of Poland’s Marcin Maciulewicz in under two minutes. He worked past Steffen Banta and Achilles Rocha before the final showdown with Duarte.

What followed was fourteen minutes of pressure-based no-gi grappling before Griffith timed a rear naked choke at 14:47. Duarte tapped. The South African — competing far from home, in a division he had only recently entered — walked out as ADCC -99kg world champion. A result nobody had penciled in going into the weekend.

The arm bar setups Griffith used to control position in those matches are worth studying. Our breakdown of arm bar no-gi setups covers the seven entries that show up most at this level.

Kennedy Maciel’s Cinderella Run: 13th Seed Takes 66kg Gold

Kennedy Maciel is not a nobody. The Brazilian was a 2019 ADCC silver medalist and is on his fourth appearance at Worlds. But entering Krakow as the 13th seed, with stars like Diego Pato seeded above him, expectations were tempered. He was having none of it.

Maciel dominated Kamil Wilk 10-0 in his opener, then survived a genuine scare in the quarterfinals — Fabricio Andrey had a tight guillotine locked in for the first several minutes before Maciel picked up his pace in overtime and took a referee decision. He then upset top-seeded Diego Pato in the semis before handling Gavin Corbe of the USA in the final.

The Andrey match was the defining moment. Getting out of a deep guillotine at this level of competition is about structure, timing, and knowing your escape options cold. If you want to pressure-test your own choke escapes, our guillotine choke defense guide covers five no-gi exits that hold up under real pressure.

Pawel Jaworski Brings the House Down in Krakow

The host-nation champion story almost never happens at a major grappling event. Then Pawel Jaworski happened.

The Polish grappler was making his ADCC debut in the -88kg division, and he gave the Tauron Arena crowd every reason to lose their minds. His opening-round ankle lock finish over Roberto Dib Frias generated the biggest crowd reaction of Day 1. He then knocked out top-seeded Felipe Costa in the semifinals before grinding out a 1-0 penalty win over Sweden’s Marlon Tajik in the final.

A Pole winning ADCC gold on home soil in Krakow. That is a sentence that will be in grappling highlight reels for decades. Jaworski made his country a footnote in ADCC history — a good one.

Women’s Division: Three Champions, One Historic Two-Peat

Ana Carolina Vieira (-65kg) delivered the most historically significant result of the entire weekend. Vieira submitted Sarah Galvao in double overtime at 32:29 — one of the longest matches of the championship — to defend her 2024 ADCC title. That makes her the first repeat women’s champion since Gabi Garcia won in 2017 and 2019. At 32 years old, she is proof that longevity in no-gi grappling is earned through obsessive refinement, not youth. Full story on FloGrappling here.

Jasmine Rocha (-55kg) outlasted Ana Rodrigues via rear naked choke at 25:09 in the longest women’s final of the event. The American took gold in one of ADCC’s most competitive weight classes and gave the USA another champion on the board alongside Crevar.

Helena Crevar (+65kg) was the quickest women’s finish: submission over Spain’s Anabel Lopez at 6:04. Crevar, who trains alongside Luke Griffith, made it a double for their camp on a very good day for their squad.

RAF 13 Preview: Chimaev vs Burns 2 on the Wrestling Mat (Sept 18)

While the grappling world was locked into Krakow, one of the week’s most interesting booking confirmations arrived from the wrestling circuit: Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns will run their rematch on the RAF wrestling mats at RAF 13 on September 18 in Coral Gables, Florida, airing on FOX Nation.

Their UFC 273 fight is one of the most referenced examples of elite BJJ pressure tested against top-tier wrestling in an MMA context. Burns — a multi-time black belt world champion — had Chimaev in tight guillotine danger before losing by split decision. Burns subsequently retired from MMA following five straight losses.

The RAF wrestling format is a different animal from submission grappling: pins count, ground exposure is scored differently, and the ruleset rewards explosive top control over patience. Chimaev debuted this summer with a 94-second pin of Dillon Danis. Burns, whose BJJ base includes elite-level D’arce and anaconda setups, represents a genuine test. Check our D’arce choke no-gi breakdown to see why Burns’ upper-body game translates into any grappling format.

Looking Ahead

The ADCC aftermath will dominate grappling conversation through the rest of September. Expect rematch speculation (Duarte’s ADCC legacy takes a hit, will he respond?), retirement coverage on Hugo, and bracket retrospectives on Maciel’s run flooding every platform this week.

• Sept 18: RAF 13 in Miami — Chimaev vs Burns 2, Covington vs Muhammad headlining
• Oct onward: IBJJF No-Gi Worlds buildup begins for many of these same athletes
• FloGrappling will have full match replays and post-event analysis available on their platform throughout the week

One thing this ADCC made clear: the depth in no-gi grappling is the widest it has ever been. Griffith from South Africa. Jaworski from Poland. Rocha and Crevar flying the American flag on the women’s side. This sport is genuinely global now — and the next Worlds will be even more competitive for it.

If you want to train at the level these athletes are at, understanding how your gear choice affects your movement and grip is step one. Our breakdown of short sleeve vs long sleeve rashguards covers exactly how to make that call for your game.

Stay on the mats.