Another four elite grapplers have just been invited to compete at ADCC 2024 and they will be coming from all around the world in order to test themselves among the best around. This latest batch of invites have been spread around several different divisions, although two of them will be competing at under 77kg. With the chaos of the rivalry between ADCC and the Craig Jones Invitational, many weight classes have been thrown into disarray as top competitors have chosen to compete at CJI instead. These invites include a reigning champion who’s guaranteed his attendance, two returning veterans, and one exciting competitor making her return after some time away.
Giancarlo Bodoni is the reigning champion confirmed in these latest invites and he will be committed to defending his title, as he won the under 88kg division at ADCC 2022 and will return to the same weight class. That was actually his debut appearance at the tournament and the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu competitor became one of the few people to win a weight class on his very first attempt. He won his initial invite the hard way by standing on top of the podium at the ADCC North American East Coast Trials 2021, and now he’ll be on the opposite side of things as the reigning champion facing down several ADCC Trials winners.
Mateusz Szczecinski is another competitor who will be making his second appearance at the event after having an impressive debut performance at ADCC 2022. Szczecinski wasn’t as successful as Bodoni, as he went 1-1 in the under 77kg division on his first attempt. He still made a memorable impact when he submitted William Tackett in the opening round, taking out one of the competitors that a lot of people had selected as a dark horse to win the whole division. Szczecinski will now get a second chance to prove himself among the best grapplers in the world at ADCC 2024, and he’ll no doubt be one to keep an eye on.
The other member of the under 77kg weight class who has just been announced is actually Bodoni’s teammate, Oliver Taza. Not only has he been one of the top no gi competitors in the world for quite some time now, but Taza is also a frequent figure on the podium of ADCC Trials. Just in the last two years alone he has won two silver medals and two bronze medals across the North American and European Trials. He is one of the most experienced ADCC competitors around too; having competed in 2017, 2019, 2022, and now 2024 as well.
The final of the four grapplers recently invited to ADCC 2024 is the only woman, and also one of the most interesting announcements. Nathiely De Jesus will be competing in the over 65kg division, roughly 5 years since she made her one and so far only appearance at the event. She competed in the over 60kg division at ADCC 2019 and went out in the opening round, but she’s since developed into one of the top competitors in her weight class. Now she’ll be returning after an absence in 2022 and she’ll be eager to add her first ADCC title to her growing collection of accomplishments.
The four grapplers who have recently been invited to ADCC 2024 have all been announced in a series of posts to the promotion’s official Instagram account: