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 women’s under 55kg 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 women’s under 55kg division at ADCC 2024, take a look at the full play-by-play of the last edition here.
ADCC 2024: Women’s Under 55kg Division Full Preview
There are 8 elite competitors in the ADCC 2024 women’s under 55kg division, so this preview will split them into groups of 2 judging by how good their chances are of winning the tournament. The favorites, as the name suggests, are the 2 most likely to win the tournament and will probably end up as the finalists depending on the draw. The contenders are the 2 who are most likely to make it to the semi-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 4 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
Mayssa Bastos
Nobody who stood on the podium at ADCC 2022 is returning in the women’s under 55kg division, so that makes it very tough to predict a favorite in this preview. Mayssa Bastos might have lost in the opening round that year but she was also pretty undersized for the old under 60kg division. This new weight class suits her much better and she’s been in insane form over the last two years, competing in dozens of matches and losing only a single one that she has since avenged. She’s beaten two of her potential opponents here during that time period and this could be the year that she wins ADCC gold.
Bianca Basilio
Bianca Basilio is the only woman in this division who knows what it’s like to stand on the podium at ADCC, as she won a gold medal back in 2019. She also took home a silver medal on her first attempt in 2017 and finished fourth in 2022, so she knows exactly what it takes to make it to the top. The only women to ever beat her at ADCC aren’t in the division either, but Basilio has also been a lot less active against elite opposition compared to some of the other women here and that might work against her.
Contenders
Jasmine Rocha
Jasmine Rocha has been kicking things into high gear over the last two years and the young prospect has gotten a ton of experience competing under the ADCC ruleset. She’s been a dominant force on the ADCC Open circuit and has stood on the podium of several ADCC Trials events before winning her invite at the ADCC West Coast Trials this year. Rocha is known for her exciting style and although there are some very difficult opponents waiting for her, there’s also some winnable matchups too.
Adele Fornarino
Things are going very well for Adele Fornarino and this might be the year that Australia gets it’s very first ADCC world champion. She’s won ADCC Trials multiple times over and proven that she’s the best grappler in the continent in her weight class. She only lost to the eventual champion Ffion Davies back in 2022 and now that she is no longer in the division, it’s wide open for Fornarino to rise to the top. It can’t be stressed enough that this weight class is very unpredictable this year though, so things won’t be easy for Fornarino at all.
Dark Horses
Alex Enriquez
Alex Enriquez is definitely going to be one to watch in the women’s under 55kg division at ADCC 2024 even if she’s not an outright favorite in this preview. She can do everything and she wins very consistently under every ruleset out there, so she’s always a challenge for anyone. Enriquez actually beat Fornarino on advantages at the IBJJF No Gi World Championship last year and she has an interesting rivalry going on with Rocha, one that she’s currently down 1-3 in. It wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Enriquez make a run in the bracket but there would likely be some close matches along the way.
Anna Rodrigues
Anna Rodrigues doesn’t have a ton of no gi competition experience compared to the other women here, but she’s already delivered some excellent results. She’s beaten a few of her potential opponents across both gi and no gi competition but her most recent outing was a decision loss to Fornarino at WNO 24. Her fortunes at ADCC 2024 will likely depend on how the draw goes really, a match against one of the favorites in the opening round could spell an early exit but it’s not hard to imagine her going further if things go her way.
Underdogs
Margot Ciccarelli
Margot Ciccarelli is an underdog despite how incredibly talented she is, purely because the division around her is so stacked with elite talent. Ciccarelli doesn’t have quite the same level of success as her fellow competitors in no gi tournaments, but that doesn’t mean that she can’t produce the same results when it matters most. Her only matches with the other women in this bracket recently are a pair of close losses to Rodrigues, but if a few minor improvements could be enough to see her through to the semi-finals.
Brenda Larissa
Brenda Larissa actually won the first ADCC South American Trials this year but didn’t get an invite as only one is available for each continent in the female divisions. She couldn’t repeat that same performance at the second edition but her earlier success was noted and she received an invite regardless. Larissa will likely be matched against one of the favorites right from the start unfortunately and although she does have the skill to do it, it will be a real challenge to get past one of them.
The full ADCC 2024 live event, including the women’s under 55kg division, is available to watch live on August 17th and 18th, 2024 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
