The results of the first edition of the ADCC North American East Coast trials are in, after literally hundreds of the best grapplers in the United States have gathered together to fight it out over two days for the right to compete in the ADCC world championships. The winner of the five men’s divisions all earned a ticket to the eventual world championships that are scheduled to take place in Las Vegas in 2022, which will give them the chance to etch their name in the history of the most prestigious grappling tournament in the world. As usual, some of the winners were exactly who was predicted at the beginning of the weekend and some of them shocked the world with the odds they overcame.
Mason Fowler and Kade Ruotolo were two of the favorites to come out on top of the 99kg and 77kg divisions respectively, and they both defeated men who wouldn’t look out of place alongside them in the world championships. Ruotolo had two incredibly tough matches against PJ Barch and William Tackett in the final rounds, while Fowler had to defeat Devhonte Johnson in the final to earn his place. Ruotolo might be a regular on the biggest stages but it’s worth remembering that he’s still just a teenager and has an entire career of grappling ahead of him.
He’s not alone either, as 16 year-old Cole Abate also did his mentors the Mendes brothers proud by coming out on top of the 66kg division and beat competitors with much more high-level experience like Keith Krikorian, Jon Calestine, Deandre Corbe, and Estevan Martinez. At 88kg Giancarlo Bodoni came out of nowhere to win the division and managed to defeat Jacon ‘The Hillbilly Hammer’ Couch, Elder Cruz, and Combat Jiu Jitsu middleweight world champion Ryan Aitken along the way.
The final man to join the first five entrants to the ADCC world championships coming from the European, Middle-Eastern and African trials was John Hansen. He won a tough over 99kg division that NCAA All-American Pat Downey was present in, although Downey himself was submitted by Damon Ramos in the quarter-finals. Hansen put up the largest points score of the day in the same round and met Ramos in the final before earning his invite.
Unfortunately, the women’s division of the ADCC North American East Coast trials are the only ones who’s results don’t include an invite to the world championships, but they still featured dozens of elite competitors. In the end, Brianna Ste-Marie overcame Jasmine Rocha and Alexandra Enriquez to win the under 60kg division and Kendall Reusing made good on her status as the over 66kg division’s favorite by taking home the gold medal.
Men’s ADCC North American East Coast Trials 2021 Qualifiers
-66kg Cole Abate
-77kg Kade Ruotolo
-88kg Giancarlo Bodoni
-99kg Mason Fowler
+99kg John Hansen
Women’s Results
-60kg Brianna Ste-Marie
+60kg Kendall Reusing
The results of the ADCC North American East Coast Trials and the full replay will be available to watch on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
