Polaris have just announced a huge addition to their heavyweight roster, as Declan Moody has now signed a multi-match contract with them. He’s one of the top competitors in his weight class and has now won ADCC Trials several times; something that many elite grapplers struggle to do even once. Moody has also managed to win Trials across two different continents due to having more than one passport or citizenship; which means that he’s had to battle his way through two completely different lineups in the process. He’s undoubtedly one of the beat to come out of Australia in recent years and it’ll be interesting to see how Polaris use him in 2026.
On one hand, the Polaris Squads Intercontinental Championship has been a huge success this year and the Asia & Oceania team has been a big part of that. They delivered a huge upset at Polaris 33 by beating the South American team, which was one of the tournament’s most memorable moments. Moody would be an incredible addition to that team if Polaris choose to run that tournament back again, and it might be enough to help them do even better next time around. Alternatively, Moody is enough of a big name to justify being given a title-shot straight away if they want to go in that direction.
Moody competes at under 99kg for ADCC and that falls in line with the light-heavyweight division at Polaris, where they don’t really have a champion. Craig Jones is the only person to ever hold that title but after entering semi-retirement from competition, it doesn’t look like he’ll ever come back to defend it. The Polaris heavyweight title is also vacant, after Kyle Boehm was stripped of the title 3 years ago. Moody would be an instant contender in either weight class and Polaris have several options for him too, like UK grand prix champion Freddie Vosgrone or the current middleweight champion Owen Livesey.
Declan Moody will make the first appearances of his Polaris contract in 2026; which will be available to watch exclusively on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
