Joslyn Molina made history at just 13 years old by becoming the youngest ADCC Trials medalist of all time. Earning a medal at the qualifier for the world’s most prestigious no gi grappling tournament is an incredible achievement in itself, and one that many competitors work their whole lives to earn. Although there have been several teenage champions and medalists over the years, the vast majority of them have only ever been able to reach that level by 15 or 16 at the very most. In fact, ADCC Trials have previously only been open to those aged 15 and above because anyone younger than that competing against adults is vanishingly rare.
Molina was actually the motivation behind that rule-change though, as she’s been competing alongside adults on the ADCC Open circuit for quite a while now. She has not only been a dominant force among her peers but the young orange belt very quickly proved that she was capable of keeping up with adult black belts too. She’s won several ADCC Opens despite the incredibly tough opposition and when she won her professional debut at Who’s Number One 29, she became undeniable. With the path now clear for her to register for Trials, she jumped at the opportunity and entered the over 65kg division at the ADCC North American East Coast Trials 2025.
In her first match she faced Canadian purple belt Tianna Lund, outscoring her 6-0 and advancing to the quarter-finals. There she took just over 2 minutes to submit brown belt Hannah Robinson with a tight D’arce choke, stepping into mount for a powerful finish. She lost on points in the semi-finals to the eventual champion Maia Matalon, before rallying in the bronze medal match to win by an impressive 18-point margin black belt and PFL veteran Brittney Elkin. Molina finished the weekend with a bronze medal but she clearly has the ability to go even further, as she actually beat Matalon by decision at the ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 last month.
It was an incredible performance from such a young competitor and Molina has set a record that is unlikely to be broken any time soon. She’s also established herself as one of the top competitors in the world at this weight class, although unfortunately she’s probably going to find it tough to get matches from now on. Younger competitors will be wary of facing someone so talented and adults will be hesitant to take on a 13 year-old. The next edition of ADCC Trials isn’t far away though and if Molina can win gold there, she’ll earn an invite to ADCC 2026 alongside the very best the sport has to offer.
The full ADCC North American East Coast Trials 2025 event replay, including Joslyn Molina becoming the youngest medalist in history, is available to watch on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
