Preparation is already underway for ADCC 2026 and according to key organizer Renato Santos, the event is likely going to take place in Poland. If true, this would mark the first time that Poland has ever played host to the tournament and only the fourth time in almost 30 years that it’s been hosted in Europe. It also marks a return to past form, as ADCC regularly travelled around multiple different countries between 2003 and 2017. The first four editions prior to that were held in Abu Dhabi, and the massively successful modern era has seen three editions in a row all held in the United States.
These were also the three editions led by Mo Jassim, but he made the decision to step down as head organizer last year. In an interview with Marcelo Alonso, Renato Santos revealed that a change in leadership has also coincided with a change in venue:
“The next ADCC, they haven’t announced it yet, but from what I’ve heard, it’s going to be in Poland.”
Poland has always had a strong relationship with submission grappling and there will likely be a few grapplers competing in front of their home-crowd at ADCC 2026. ADCC 2024 featured both Marcin Maciulewicz and Mateusz Szczecinski representing Poland, and there are several other top contenders who could make their way there next time around. Santos originally had another location in mind though, one that would give many more competitors the home-field advantage:
“I expected it to be the United States, Brazil and so on but, man… I tried, right? I submitted my name. I wanted it to be in Brazil, but honestly I’m happy it went there.”
He’s not the only one either, Melqui Galvao actually led a grassroots campaign to bring ADCC 2026 to Brazil. Although that didn’t work out in the end, it appears as though it might have made an impression on ADCC as they look further into the future:
“And 2028, there’s a 99% chance it’ll be here, right? I want to make it happen in Rio de Janeiro. I’ve got some ambitious plans, things that have never been seen before, chasing iconic photos… It’s 30 years of ADCC, so it’s the cherry on top… So my team, my ADCC side, including Mo (Jassim) and people from the board, are super excited for 2028 to be here.”
The clip from the interview with Renato Santos where he reveals that ADCC 2026 is likely going to be in Poland was uploaded to the official Instagram account of BJJ Cria:
