The second edition of the ADCC South American Trials 2026 will take place on March 21st, 2026 and we’ve put together a full preview of the biggest names competing in all 8 weight classes. The event is going down just one week after the first edition of South American Trials for this year so naturally many of the same people will be competing. The 3 female divisions are significantly bigger though, thanks to the fact that they actually have invites available for the winners this time around. It also means that the ADCC 2026 divisions are starting to really take shape, as the roster of invited athletes will be almost half-full once the dust settles here.
ADCC Second South American Trials 2026 Full Preview
Men’s Divisions
Under 66kg
Favorites: There are 59 men competing at under 66kg and although he didn’t have the best run last week, Kaua Gabriel is still one of the top contenders here. He won silver medals at both editions of this event in 2024, so he should feature on the podium again. Felipe Machado won a bronze medal at the second South American Trial in 2024 and he should also be a real threat here. The final veteran black belt who’s had high-level success in this bracket is Yuri Hendrex and although he‘s known more as a gi competitor, he could make an impact here.
Dark Horse: David Santos came away with a silver medal last week and he could easily be considered a favorite, but at 18 years old it’s always tough to replicate those kinds of performances consistently.
Under 77kg
Favorites: Under 77kg is the biggest bracket with 81 competitors involved and the two medalists from last week are both looking like frontrunners here. Martin Abeal was the silver medalist and he ran through his side of the bracket with 6 submission wins, signalling that he might be ready for some seriously big challenges. Gabriel Monteiro was the bronze medalist and although he’s just 17 years old, this division is wide open and he may well hit the podium again. Finally, veteran grappler Alexandre De Jesus fell just short of the podium last time and could easily go much further.
Dark Horse: Lucas Torres didn’t manage to get very far last week but he definitely still has a good run in him. He won double gold at the ADCC Brazilian National Championship last year so he is capable of beating many of his potential opponents; it’s just that the favorites will be tough matchups for him.
Under 88kg
Favorites: Gabriel Brod won silver last week and with the champion already securing his invite, this puts him in a great position to win gold this time around. There’s only 42 men in the bracket too so there isn’t much room for an upset, but there are a few other competitors who stand out. Charles Negromonte won an invite in the first Trials in 2024 so he knows exactly what it takes to stand on the top of the podium here, and there’s also Magid Hage, who fell just short of the podium in fourth place last week but is a pretty consistent performer at Trials over the years.
Dark Horse: Francisco Lo didn’t go as far as some people would have imagined but he did win a few matches and only lost his last one by decision. If he comes back with the trademark high pace he’s known for, he could easily hit the podium this time at least.
Under 99kg
Favorites: Inacio Santos is a big problem here, both literally and figuratively. He’s won the over 99kg division before and against lighter competitors, he’s going to feel almost impossible to move. Out of the other 38 men in this division, there’s also last week’s podium-placers to consider. Fellipe Trovo won silver and Ramiro Leon won bronze; with both of them having great performances on the day. Either man could make the podium again, but Santos is still the most likely winner.
Dark Horse: Vinicius Lessa is also dropping down from over 99kg and he went 1-1 there last week, so he will probably have a better time of it now. There’s some tough matchups for him against the favorites but it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see him in the top four somewhere.
Over 99kg
Favorites: This is the smallest men’s division with just 20 competitors and the two favorites are the men who stood on the podium last week. Pedro Alex won a silver medal and Yatan Bueno won bronze, and they seem like the most likely final pairing. They didn’t meet last time but have shared the mats multiple times before. Bueno leads their series but Alex has beaten him more than twice, so this could go either way.
Dark Horse: Pedro Lucas lost to Bueno last week but he’s more than capable of winning on a different day and has an even record with Alex from past matches too. Lucas is excellent positionally too so if he gets an early handle on a match with anyone then he’s usually going to end up winning.
Women’s Divisions
Under 55kg
Favorites: This is the smallest division of the tournament with just 23 competitors in it, and Mayssa Bastos is undeniably the top contender here. She always has a good chance of winning anything she enters but now that the weight limit has dropped down to 55kg, she’s easily one of the very best women in the world at this weight. Maria Luiza is going to be a problem for anyone too though and she’d be a challenge that Bastos hasn’t faced too, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.
Dark Horse: Melqui Galvao has a big chance of putting yet another one of his students into ADCC here, as the always-exciting Evellyn Azevedo is competing here. She’s capable of submitting anyone and regularly dominates the ADCC Open circuit in Brazil, so she’s definitely one to watch here.
Under 65kg
Favorites: There’s 32 women here in the biggest bracket for female competitors and it’s also one of the most unpredictable. Ana Silva won gold last week and although the bracket was smaller, it was still a very impressive feat and she even beat one of last week’s top contenders, Julia Boscher, along the way too. Boscher is back again for another run and she would still be one of the favorites even after that loss. Alongside her and Silva is Vitoria Vieira, and she’s been winning on the IBJJF no gi circuit in Brazil for quite some time now so she’ll be a threat here too.
Dark Horse: Giovanna Carneiro has had some good performances in the last two years since being promoted to black belt and although winning an invite would be considered an upset, she’s still going to be a very game opponent who could make waves.
Over 65kg
Favorites: This is the smallest bracket in the whole tournament, with just 17 competitors. Maria Ruffatto didn’t just win the only invite available at this weight in South America last time, she actually won both Trials back to back. She has a great chance of winning gold here again but Yara Soares stands out as her biggest threat. Soares has only lost to 7 women in the world and although she’s generally more of a gi competitor, she is just as elite in no gi too.
Dark Horse: Ingridd Alves actually won gold here last week but the field is much tougher this time as Soares and several other women weren’t competing. Ruffatto was though and she actually finished with a bronze medal, but Alves didn’t face her directly. She should still make it to the podium somewhere, but she’ll likely have to beat one or both of the favorites to do it this time around.
The full ADCC Second South American Trials 2026 live event, including all of the divisions in the above preview, is available to watch on March 21st on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
