ADCC ** UPDATED COMPETITOR LIST** & Featherweight Division Breakdown/Picks

From over at ADCombat:












I've also linked some of the more notable guys to BJJ Heroes for additional context in YELLOW.

Rico Vieira is a 6x world champion and while perhaps not as well known to some in the grappling world, he's a guy that lots of other good guys talk about being good. He and his (probably) more famous brother Leo Vieira are at the helm of Checkmat.

Rafa Mendes needs no introduction.
Last year saw his dominance in the Gi proves less dominant due to a loss to Tanquinho and a razor thin win over Cobrinha (as opposed to the armbar win from the year before at the Mundials in Long Beach). Rafa is a 6x world champion and 2x ADCC champion. Keenan Cornelius mentioned on This Week in BJJ that no one has tapped Rafa during their ADCC camp. If true, that's pretty baller considering the notable who's who in their camp. I think the lost to Tanquinho Mendes has likely fired up Rafa as he had to have realized that running the school and being a competitor likely took its toll on his brother and himself.

Baret Yoshida is a 3x medalist at the ADCC and a world nogi champion to boot. Yoshida's been around a long time and is more well-known for his nogi game than his pajama game.

Cobrinha said he would stop competing a few years ago. I think the emergence of Rafa to challenge his title as the undoubted best small man in Jiu-Jitsu continues to lure him back to the competition circuit. Cobrinha is a multi-time nogi world champion and 2x ADCC medalist. Along with a lot of guys on here they are mult-time world champions, but often have not won the ADCC outright. It's a testament to how tough this event is to win even once.

Not to diminish Augusto Mendes' achievements, but other than dating Mackenzie Dern and being a world gi and nogi champion, his rise to fame has recently been due to beating Rafa and Cobrinha on the same day at the Mundials last year. He found the answer to the 50/50 (athleticism, hopping, and balance?) to eke out a razor thin win over Rafa.
Tanquinho has since said he will move to MMA after this ADCC, but it will no doubt make for fireworks as Rafa and Cobrinha will be coming for him, to be sure.

Justin Rader will bring team Lovato (the largest American contingent ever to qualify for the ADCC) into the lightest weight class. He was world champion in the nogi at brown belt, but has not had the same success at black belt against the likes of Cobrinha and others.

My pick: The fat will be trimmed pretty quickly in this division. Caio not being in the division so he can focus on seminars and the Jiu-Jitsu expo is a disappointment, and I wonder if that's all it is as he claims to show up with only a few weeks of training to plenty of other events. But as it is, I'll have to go with Rafa. He's the winning-est competitor in this division, and I truly think the loss to Tanquinho has fired him up as he realized that running an academy and staying world class is almost a different skill in and of itself. I could easily see Rico Vieira upsetting some folks and making it to the final as I continually hear about how good he is and his style as an unknown on the competition circuit will catch some by surprise, I'm sure.


"MALE

-65.9 kg

1. Rafael Mendes - Brazil
2. Timo Juhani Hirvikangas - Finland
3. Darson Hemmings - USA
4. Robert Sabaruddin - Australia
5. João Miyao - Brazil
6. Mark Ramos - USA
7. Uruka Sasaki - Japan
8. Rubens Charles “Cobrinha” - Brazil
9. Nicolas Renier - France
10. Yoshioka Takahito - Japan
11. Baret Yoshida - USA
12. Ricardo Vieira - Brazil
13. Augusto Mendes “Tanquinho” - Brazil
14. Justin Rader - USA
15.
16.

-76.9 kg

1. Kron Gracie – Brazil
2. Tero Pyylampi - Finland
3. AJ Agazarm - USA
4. Youngnam Noh – Korea
5. Leonardo Nogueira - Brazil
6. Gary Tonon- USA
7. Sotaro Yamada - Japan
8. Andy Wang - Taiwan
9. Ben Henderson - USA
10. JT Torres - USA
11. Leo Vieira - Brazil
12. Satoru Kitaoka - Japan
13. Eduardo Rios - Norway
14. Lucas Lepri - Brazil
15.
16.

-87.9 kg

1. Lucas Leite – Brazil
2. Oskar Piechota - Poland
3. Keen Cornelius - USA
4. Doorwang Jeon – Korea
5. Claudio Calazans - Brazil
6. Josh Hayden - USA
7. Shinsho Anzai - Japan
8. Rustam Chsiev - Russia
9. Rafael Lavato Jr. - USA
10. Clark Gracie - USA
11. David Avellan  - USA
12. Romulo Barral - Brazil
13. Kim Dong - Korea
14. Rodrigo Caporal - Brazil
15.
16.

 

-98.9 kg

1. Dean Lister – USA
2. Tomasz Narkun - Poland
3. Mikael Knutsson - Sweden
4. Allan Drueco - Philippines
5. Abdula Isaev - Dagestan
6. James Puopolo - USA
7. Yukiyasu Ozawa - Japan
8. Kamil Uminski - Poland
9. Cristiano Lazzarini - Brazil
10. Henry Jorge Martin Ottaviano - Argentina
11. Alan Belcher - USA
12. Ezra Lenon - USA
13. Jia Jing yang - China
14. Joao Assis - Brazil
15.
16.

+99 kg

1. Vinny Magalhaes – Brazil
2. Antwain Britt – USA
3. Wang Yan Bo  - China
4. Jared Dopp - USA
5. Michael Wilson - Australia
6. Robby Donofrio - USA
7. Hideki Sekine - Japan
8. Janne Pietilainen - Finland
9. Marcus Almeida "Buchecha" - Brazil
10. Kitner Mendoga - Brazil
11. Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu - Brazil
12. Orlando Sanchez - USA
13. Joao Gabriel de Olivera - Brazil
14. Mike Martelle - Canada
15.
16.

FEMALE

-60 kg

1. Liu Yan – China
2. Anna Michelle Tavares - Brazil
3. Nyjah Easton - USA
4. Laura Hondrop - Netherlands
5. Luanna Alzuguir - Brazil
6. Michelle Nicolini - Brazil
7. Seiko Yamamoto - Japan
8. Kristina Barlaan  - USA

+60 kg

1. Gabrielle Garcia – Brazil
2. Fernanda Mazelli – Brazil
3. Tara White - USA
4. Yurika Nakakura - Japan
5. Ida Hansson - Sweden
6. Marysia Malyjasiak - Poland
7. Penny Thomas - South Africa
8. Tammy Griego - Brazil

SUPERFIGHTS

Braulio Estima – Brazil
Andre Galvao – Brazil
Mario Sperry – Brazil
Fabio Gurgel – Brazil"

 

Awesome picture.