This article is part of our ADCC 2024 coverage. To get live results, play by play, and commentary, we’ll have a live updates article running all weekend.
ADCC 2024 is scheduled for August 17th and 18th, 2024 and we’ve put together a full preview of the men’s under 66kg division. The full competitor list for all 5 men’s divisions and all 3 women’s divisions can be found here, but this article will be breaking down the individual chances of each competitor in this weight class. Every single grappler in the lineup is at the very top of the sport and any one of them could win, although some do have better chances than others on paper. ADCC is the world’s most prestigious no gi grappling tournament, so every competitor will be giving it everything they’ve got for the biggest title in the sport.
Before seeing our full preview of the men’s under 66kg division at ADCC 2024, take a look at the full play-by-play of the last edition here.
ADCC 2024: Men’s Under 66kg Division Full Preview
There are 16 elite competitors in the ADCC 2024 men’s under 66kg division, so this preview will split them into groups of 4 judging by how good their chances are of winning the tournament. The favorites, as the name suggests, are the 4 most likely to win the tournament and will probably end up as the semi-finalists depending on the draw. The contenders are the 4 who are most likely to make it to the quarter-finals and although they aren’t favorites, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see them go further. The dark horses and underdogs are the 8 who will most likely go out in the opening round, but the dark horses have the best chance of causing an upset and making a run in the bracket.
Favorites
Diogo Reis
Diogo Reis is the reigning champion in this division after an amazing run at ADCC 2022, and he actually beat four of the men in the bracket this year along the way. That alone would make him one of the top contenders in the division but he’s been in brilliant form since then as well. Reis has beaten another two of his potential opponents since his last gold medal run and he’s only lost to one man in the same time. That man will also be competing at ADCC though, and Reis suffered a pretty bad knee injury last year too so there’s still some questions around that.
Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira
Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira is the man who stands the best chance of dethroning Reis, as he also happens to be the man who has beaten him recently. Oliveira won two matches against him, the most recent of which was where Reis’ knee injury happened. Oliveira has also been on an amazing run over the last few years and he’s only lost a handful of matches mostly against bigger opponents. It seems very likely that fans get to see the next stage in the epic rivalry between Oliveira and Reis at ADCC 2024 and given that Oliveira is currently leading it 3-2, he may very well win again.
Fabricio Andrey
Fabricio Andrey made his ADCC debut in 2022 and the only reason he didn’t stand on the podium is because he had to meet his then-teammate Reis in the second round. Now that they have parted ways, that’s one grudge match that a lot of people should be looking forward to. Particularly because Andrey has shown some flashes of absolute brilliance lately, including in his amazing run through the Second ADCC South American Trials this year. Reis isn’t the only person Andrey will be out for revenge against though, as he faced Oliveira most recently and lost that match by submission.
Kennedy Maciel
The final favorite in this preview of the men’s under 66kg division at ADCC 2024 is actually the other South American Trials winner from this year. Kennedy Maciel will be coming in to this division for his third attempt at glory and he’s always been right in the mix. Maciel won a silver medal on his very first attempt in 2019 and although he went out in the second round in 2022, he’s been amazing since then. He actually came within inches of winning an IBJJF grand slam this year and even though he missed out on that, he’ll be coming into ADCC reinvigorated and eager to get back on top of the podium.
Contenders
Gabriel Sousa
Gabriel Sousa is another ADCC silver medalist but he actually won his medal last time around. That was Sousa’s first attempt and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him make it to the podium again, but he’s been much less active than most of this bracket this year. Sousa’s last match was a submission loss to Mikey Musumeci and he experienced some losses against the favorites in this division at the end of 2023. It’s all about what happens on the day though of course and if Sousa come find his form at ADCC 2024, he could do very well indeed.
Deandre Corbe
Deandre Corbe has been on the radar as a top prospect for a few years now but he’s really turned a corner over the last two years. He’s put in a phenomenal amount of work and has been competing very regularly, including at several ADCC Open events. He won his place here at the ADCC West Coast Trials and beat three ADCC veterans during that run, a clear sign that he’s ready for the big time. It’ll definitely be hard for Corbe to make it to the podium but he should make it to the quarter-finals at least depending on the draw.
Ethan Crelinsten
Ethan Crelinsten is one of the most experienced competitors in this preview of the men’s under 66kg division at ADCC 2024. He’s been around the highest level for the better part of a decade now and actually made his ADCC debut all the way back in 2017. This will be his third attempt at a gold medal here and as a two-time ADCC Trials winner, he’s always going to be tough to beat. Crelinsten has already made it to the quarter-finals before and he’s expected to go at least that far this year.
Dorian Olivarez
Dorian Olivarez might seem an unusual choice given how young he is, but he has the absolute perfect style to suit the ADCC ruleset. Olivarez has far better wrestling than anyone else in the division and he puts on a pace that very few competitors in the world can actually keep up with. He’s already proven that he’s capable of beating the best competitors on the planet despite being just 18 years old and unless he runs in to one of the favorites in the opening round, he’s a pretty safe bet to make it the quarter-finals.
Dark Horses
Josh Cisneros
Josh Cisneros actually narrowly missed out on a medal at ADCC 2022, as he finished in fourth place in an incredibly stacked division. He’s had mixed results since then though and that doesn’t bode well for his chances in another bracket full of elite competitors. If Cisneros can come back in the same form he was in during his run at ADCC 2022 then he would be a serious threat. Given the high level of opposition waiting for him, he would need to be at his very best to make it to the semi-finals again.
Keith Krikorian
Keith Krikorian is one of the most successful ADCC Trials competitors in this preview of the under 66kg division at ADCC 2024. He is a constant fixture on the podium there but that hasn’t translated to success at the world championship just yet. His appearances in 2019 and 2022 both resulted in first round losses, but he’s also drawn some of the best grapplers in the bracket both times. If Krikorian does get a more favorable draw this time around then he could definitely make it further, but it will take something special to make it on to the semi-finals.
Owen Jones
Owen Jones is largely untested at this level, but he had a fantastic performance against one of the men in this bracket on the way to winning ADCC Trials. He showed a ton of potential in that run, so he definitely could get a win or two at ADCC 2024. Jones has a fantastic guard that should cause some problems for a fair few men in the division, but the very best have been passing elite guards for years now. The real challenge for Jones will come if he’s forced to wrestle because that’s an area of his game we haven’t seen much of, and some of his potential opponents are incredibly strong there.
Gairgbeg Ibragimov
Gairbeg Ibragimov is the second ADCC European Trials winner who earned his invite this year and he beat one of his potential opponents on the way to winning that title. Similarly to the other European winner Jones, Ibragimov hasn’t had too many matches at this level. He did get a huge win over Andrey and a fellow Trials winner at the AIGA Champions League quarter-finals last year though, so he can definitely keep up. Ibragimov has great wrestling and his style does suit the ADCC ruleset so he might be able to win some matches but it’s going to be very tough in such a stacked bracket.
Underdogs
Ashley Williams
Ashley Williams made his debut in 2022 after winning the ADCC European Trials, but he wasn’t able to deliver the same result during the build up to this year. He competed in both ADCC Trials available to him and finished in fourth and third place, but both of his losses were to the eventual winners. Williams is one of the best competitors to ever come out of the UK and he has a slick arm-drag that could definitely score him some points, but the seeding will likely see him matched against one of the favorites in the opening round.
Kaua Gabriel
Kaua Gabriel is a seriously talented teenage competitor training under Melqui Galvao and his team have a history of young prospects into elite grapplers. Gabriel is definitely going to be one to watch for the future, but this might be a little too early for him to make it to the podium. The real problem of course is that ADCC matchmaking rules means that Gabriel will have to meet Reis in the second round at the latest. Gabriel might be able to make it through the opening round but it seems hard to imagine him beating Reis in a direct match.
Huaiqing Xu
Huaiqing Xu is one of the lesser-known competitors in the bracket but he had some amazing performances during his run through the ADCC Asia and Oceania Trials earlier this year. Xu has a fair amount of experience under the ADCC ruleset, but it’s all been in much smaller tournaments in Asia. With that in mind it’s hard to predict exactly how he’s going to measure up because he hasn’t faced anyone at the level of the best in this bracket before.
Ethan Thomas
Ethan Thomas has had a pretty successful professional MMA career in Australia and he’s been competing in grappling at various points along the way. He’s had some good results at higher weight classes and dropping to under 66kg was clearly an excellent choice, because he was able to win the ADCC and Oceania Trials last year. He has good wrestling for this division and it could see him to an upset win in some direct matches but again, he’s going to end up matched against the best grapplers in the world right from the start.
The full ADCC 2024 live event, including the under 66kg division, is available to watch live on August 17th and 18th, 2024 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
