PJ Barch Crowned Polaris Champ | No-Gi Weekly July 6–12, 2026

The road to Kraków got a lot more crowded this week. Poland’s welterweights crowned a new king, ADCC’s biggest names started saying “yes” (and a few said “no”), and the professional grappling calendar filled in around the September Worlds. Here’s everything that mattered in no-gi from July 6–12, 2026.

1. PJ Barch Wins the Polaris 38 Welterweight Grand Prix

Saturday, July 11, gave the no-gi world its marquee moment of the week. Polaris 38 ran an eight-man welterweight Grand Prix in one night — three rounds, one belt, and $30,000 USD on the line — and it was PJ Barch who walked out crowned welterweight king. Barch out-grappled a brutal bracket that included Mateusz Szczeciński and Deandre Corbe, grinding through the format that has historically punished anyone who fades late.

The Grand Prix format is the closest thing pro grappling has to a survival test: win by submission and you save gas, coast to a decision and you pay for it two rounds later. Barch managed the tank better than anyone in the field, blending relentless pressure passing with the composure to slow the pace when the tournament math demanded it. The win instantly reshuffles the welterweight pecking order heading into the fall and stamps Barch as a name ADCC’s 77kg contenders now have to account for. If you’ve been sleeping on the division, this is your wake-up call.

The co-main was every bit as decisive: Ffion Davies reminded everyone why she sits at the top of the women’s no-gi pound-for-pound conversation, controlling Brianna Ste-Marie from the opening exchanges and never letting the match slip into the kind of scramble Ste-Marie thrives in. Davies dictated grips, dictated position, and dictated pace — the exact statement she wanted before her own ADCC campaign kicks into gear. Between Barch’s belt and Davies’s dominance, Polaris 38 delivered two of the cleanest resumé entries of the summer.

2. The ADCC 2026 Field Fills In — Leon and Crevar Are In

With Worlds locked for September 12–13 at the TAURON Arena in Kraków, Poland, the invitation acceptances started rolling in this week. The two headliners: Dante Leon and Helena Crevar, arguably the two hottest pound-for-pound no-gi athletes on the planet, both officially accepted. Crevar is making the bold call to move up to +65kg — a size jump that pits her against the division’s biggest, most physical women, and a sign she’s chasing legacy over the easy path.

Finland’s Santeri Lillius also confirmed at -88kg, adding to a men’s bracket that keeps getting deeper. Not everyone said yes, though: Rafael Lovato Jr. turned down his invite off the back of his 2024 finals run, choosing instead to focus on a slate of upcoming pro superfights. It’s a reminder that a golden ticket to Kraków isn’t automatic anymore — the pro-match money is real, and veterans are weighing guaranteed paydays against the grind of a 16-man ADCC bracket.

Roughly 63 athletes are now confirmed across the eight regular weight classes. The men’s side runs five weight classes of 16 competitors each; the women contest three classes of eight. About half the field comes through continental Trials and half through direct ADCC invitations, so expect the roster to keep churning right up to fight week. For the full breakdown of who’s in and who’s still on the bubble, see our running ADCC 2026 fight card guide.

3. Champions Out: The ADCC Card Keeps Shifting

The flip side of acceptances is the withdrawals — and this cycle has been unusually turbulent at the top. Reigning champions from three divisions are officially off the list: Diogo Reis (66kg), Mica Galvão (77kg), and Giancarlo Bodoni (88kg) have all been removed from the confirmed roster. Add the previously announced retirement of Gordon Ryan, and the 2026 Worlds is shaping up as the most wide-open ADCC in a decade.

The upside for fans: chaos breeds finishes. With so many belt-holders absent, the door is open for the next wave to make a name in Poland — and the headline superfight now pits the last two ADCC absolute champions, Kaynan Duarte vs. Yuri Simoes, in a heavyweight clash of eras. Duarte’s top pressure against Simoes’s veteran craft is exactly the kind of matchup that anchors a card when the divisional titles are up for grabs. We broke down the early ripples of this shake-up in last week’s No-Gi Weekly roundup, and the board is still moving.

4. BJJ Stars 19 Books a Grappling Crossover: Pitbull vs. Moicano

Pro grappling’s habit of poaching MMA names continues. BJJ Stars 19, set for July 31 live on FloGrappling, will feature UFC lightweights Patricky Pitbull and Renato Moicano in a submission-grappling superfight. Moicano is a legitimate black belt with a slick guard and a genuine passion for the art, while Pitbull brings the kind of pressure and scrambling that translates cleanly to no-gi. It’s exactly the sort of crossover card that pulls casual MMA fans into the grappling ecosystem — and gives no-gi another mainstream on-ramp at a time when the sport is fighting for eyeballs.

5. CJI 3 Is Still Dead — and UFC BJJ Is Filling the Vacuum

No reversal this week: the Craig Jones Invitational 3 remains cancelled, and the ripple effects are now the story. With Jones’s promotion out of the 2026 picture and its $10 million spectacle shelved, UFC BJJ has moved aggressively to reshape the professional market. The promotion has a full slate of events on the calendar and is now the default landing spot for pros chasing paydays outside ADCC.

Next up on that front: the UFC BJJ Opens run August 22–23 in Las Vegas, with Saturday dedicated to no-gi competition. It’s an amateur-facing bracket, but it signals how deep the UFC intends to plant its flag in the grappling space — and how much the landscape has changed since CJI first blew the doors open in 2024. For grapplers, more promotions competing for talent means more matches, more platforms, and more chances to get paid to roll.

6. What the Comp Season Means for Your Kit

Every time the pro calendar heats up, the gear questions follow. Competition season is when your rashguard stops being a fashion choice and becomes equipment: it has to survive back-to-back matches, resist mat friction, and pass inspection if you’re rolling in an IBJJF-legal ruleset. Watching Polaris and ADCC athletes is a free education in what actually works — flatlock seams that don’t shred, ranked-division sleeve rules, and fabrics that don’t turn into a squeegee by round three of a Grand Prix.

If you’re building a rotation for a busy training and competing block, our breakdown of the best rashguards for BJJ in 2026 covers the picks that hold up when you’re the one in the bracket, not just watching it. The lesson from every athlete on this list is the same: reliable gear is one less thing to think about when the whistle blows.

Quick Hits

• Weight-class dominoes: Crevar’s jump to +65kg is the headline move, but expect several more athletes to confirm their divisions in the coming days as the ADCC brackets firm up.
• Welterweight is the division to watch: between Barch’s Polaris crown and a wide-open ADCC 77kg field, no-gi’s most stacked weight class just got more interesting.
• Pro money vs. Worlds glory: Lovato Jr. won’t be the last veteran to pick a paid superfight over an ADCC bracket — the economics of the sport are shifting fast.

Watch: No-Gi Action Ahead of Kraków

For a taste of the high-level no-gi that’s setting the stage for ADCC 2026, here are some of the best recent matches and highlights:

Looking Ahead

The next six weeks are stacked. BJJ Stars 19 (July 31) delivers the Pitbull–Moicano crossover, the UFC BJJ Opens hit Las Vegas August 22–23, and every week between now and September brings fresh ADCC acceptances, withdrawals, and superfight announcements. Expect more champions to make their weight-class decisions, more veterans to weigh pro-match money against a Worlds run, and the welterweight picture to stay volatile — PJ Barch just planted a flag that the rest of the ADCC 77kg field will have to answer.

We’ll be back next week with the latest no-gi results, roster moves, and gear intel. Until then: drill your takedowns, wash your rashguard properly, and keep your eyes on Kraków. See you on the mats.

Sources: FloGrappling Grappling Bulletin, BJJ Heroes, and ADCC Official.