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 65kg 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 65kg division at ADCC 2024, take a look at the full play-by-play of the last edition here.
ADCC 2024: Women’s Under 65kg Division Full Preview
There are 8 elite competitors in the ADCC 2024 women’s under 65kg 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
Brianna Ste-Marie
Brianna Ste-Marie came pretty close to an ADCC title last time around although that was at the slightly lower weight class of under 60kg. She left with a silver medal after two impressive wins on the way to the final and established herself as one of the best in the world in the process. With the only woman to beat her under ADCC rules not competing here, she stands a fantastic chance of standing on top of the podium this time around. The only issue is that every woman in the bracket is a new opponent for Ste-Marie and even with her elite guard-passing, there are quite a few who pose a threat.
Beatriz ‘Bia’ Mesquita
Beatriz ‘Bia’ Mesquita is the only other competitor in this preview of the women’s under 65kg division at ADCC 2024 who has actually stood on the podium before, and she actually won the whole thing back in 2017. She hasn’t managed to reach the same height since then though, finishing fourth in 2019 and winning a bronze medal at ADCC 2022. Mesquita has regularly been in contention for years now and that is unlikely to change just yet, as she will almost certainly be seeded highly and won’t run in to the bigger threats in this bracket until the later rounds.
Contenders
Helena Crevar
It might seem strange to pick a 17 year-old blue belt as a top contender to win an ADCC title, but that’s exactly what Helena Crevar is. She has been a prospect on the rise for several years now and she’s beaten plenty of adult grapplers during that space of time. A move to New Wave Jiu-Jitsu and her arrival into the juvenile age brackets have combined to push her into the highest level of competition. She won the ADCC West Coast Trials earlier this year and that gave her more opportunities, but so far she’s passed every test with flying colors. She’s had good results against some of her potential opponents here and even though this will be the biggest challenge of her young career, she’s a pretty safe bet to reach the podium at least.
Morgan Black
Morgan Black is actually the last woman who has managed to beat Crevar, and she even did it under ADCC rules in the final of the ADCC East Coast Trials last year. Black won that match 2-0 on points, but Crevar returned the favor in the final of the West Coast Trials with a 2-0 points win of her own. A lot of attention should be on the next stage of their rivalry and it’ll be interesting to see if Black can pull back another win. It’ll obviously be tough for her to beat the best in the bracket but she should make it through the opening round at the very least.
Dark Horses
Ana Vieira
Ana Vieira has won the IBJJF World Championship on five separate occasions and she’s beaten several of the best grapplers in the world to win those titles. She earned her place in this division by winning the Second ADCC South American Trials and it was a great performance, including some wins over top competitors. Vieira’s elite guard-passing gives her the ability to win on points against anyone who chooses to play guard and she can beat any of the women here on the right day, but she’ll need to pull out something special if she wants to do better than her fourth-place finish at ADCC 2019.
Aurelie Le Vern
Aurelie Le Vern has only been a black belt for a little over a year but she’s already proven that she can keep up with the best in the sport. She’s beaten several elite competitors since then but her only match against another woman in this bracket was a loss. That came by decision against Crevar at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7, so that’s really nothing to be ashamed of. There are some matchups Le Vern would be expected to win here so if she’s fortunate when the draw is made then she could be in contention for a medal.
Underdogs
Sula-Mae Lowenthal
Sula-Mae Lowenthal was a surprise winner at the ADCC Asia and Oceania Trials but she finished with 3 submissions in 4 matches, so it was clearly well-deserved. That was actually her second attempt at winning ADCC Trials this year, and she went out in the quarter-finals of the European Trials on her first attempt. The women’s under 65kg division is stacked with elite competitors at ADCC 2024, so Lowenthal will have a tough time making it past anyone in this preview; although it’s not impossible.
Amanda Leve
Amanda Leve has had solid results under ADCC rules recently, winning the East Coast Trials in the over 65kg division and returning for a silver medal in the West Coast Trials. She’s now moved down in weight after receiving her invite, so she may well have a size advantage against some of her potential opponents. She last competed at ADCC back in 2019 where she lost in the opening round to Vieira, but she’s gotten significantly better since then and could be a dangerous opponent for anyone here.
The full ADCC 2024 live event, including the women’s under 65kg division, is available to watch live on August 17th and 18th, 2024 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
