This article is part of our week of ADCC 2022 coverage. To get live results, play by play, and commentary, we’ll have a live updates article running all weekend.
Jon ‘Thor’ Blank has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming 2022 ADCC world championships due to currently undisclosed reasons, and both the 88kg and 99kg divisions have been rearranged as a result. With Blank pulling out of 88kg, Pedro Marinho has taken the opportunity to drop down to that weightclass instead of the promotion finding a direct replacement. Marinho is the inaugural Who’s Number One Light-Heavyweight world champion after defeating Craig Jones and even moved up to the Heavyweight division in order to challenge Gordon Ryan for the vacant title there too.
Despite competing at these weightclasses and even winning an IBJJF world championship at 91kg, Marinho has always been capable of making it to 88kg and may very well find more success in that division. Not only does he own a victory over Craig Jones but he has also beaten another two of his fellow 88kg competitors in Vagner Rocha and Giancarlo Bodoni. With him dropping down in weight, this left a hole in the 99kg division that needed to be filled.
The man to fill that gap is Luccas Lira Costa and he will likely serve as one of the underdogs in the 99kg division that could surprise any of the more well-known athletes on the right day. Costa is a physically-imposing grappler and a veteran of the AJP Tour who will be eager to take the opportunity he’s been given with both hands and make a name for himself by upsetting the status quo and defeating one of the bigger names in his division. After all, part of what makes ADCC so magical is that upsets happen at every single event and even Hall of Famers like Marcelo Garcia got their start as a late-replacement in their first appearance.
The news of the 88kg and 99kg divisions being rearranged after Jon ‘Thor’ Blank withdrew from the 2022 ADCC world championships was announced in a post to the promotion’s official Instagram account:
To see the full and updated competitor list for ADCC 2022, click here.
