Adele Fornarino recently revealed that the first ever female ADCC Superfight Championship might be on the horizon for her. It would be a huge moment for women in the sport, as it’s another step towards full equality at the most prestigious no gi grappling tournament in the world. ADCC 2024 featured a whole host of changes, starting with a new women’s division that brought the total up to three weight classes. That in itself was going to be a huge change that increased the number of women competing by 50%, but the second change was the return of the women’s absolute division for the first time in 19 years.
Fornarino won the new under 55kg weight class and then won the absolute division as well, becoming the first female double champion in almost two decades. It was a momentous occasion and it was even more historic because Fornarino is also the first ever Australian champion. ADCC tradition has dictated that the men’s absolute champion earns the right to challenge the reigning superfight champion at the next edition of the event. Now that Adele Fornarino has won the absolute division, the next question is whether or not ADCC 2026 will be the year that the female Superfight Championship is introduced:
“At this stage, we have talked about it. There’s interest in it but it’s gonna be about finding out how to do it because there hasn’t been (another) absolute.”
The only previous absolute champions were crowned in 2005 and 2007, and neither of them are actively competing in Jiu-Jitsu any more. Fornarino explained that this is the first hurdle to overcome, but she has even more planned for ADCC 2026:
“There was one a long time ago but there hasn’t been a female absolute since then so it’s going to be about finding an appropriate opponent for that superfight spot. But it’s definitely something we’re interested in. I definitely want to do my division again, I wanna stay active in ADCC.”
We asked if there was anyone in particular that Adele Fornarino had in mind for the other half of the first female ADCC Superfight Championship match, but she was realistic about what might happen in the next two years:
“It’s a long time away. It’s a long time for the female divisions to change and switch, and for people to make statements and for people to show what they’re made of in the next couple of years. I don’t think that there’s any standout person, in my opinion, that couldn’t switch overnight. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens when the next ADCC rolls around.”
The full episode of JitsCast with Adele Fornarino and Jake O’Driscoll, where they discuss the possibility of the first ever female ADCC Superfight Championship, is now available to watch on the official JitsMagazine YouTube channel, click here to subscribe for more or check out the interview below:
