This article concerning Mica Galvao and Diogo Reis is part of our ADCC 2024 coverage. To get live results, play by play, and commentary, we’ll have a live updates article running all weekend.
Mica Galvao and Diogo Reis have announced that they will be competing at ADCC 2024 and will not be switching to the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational like many others. Both of the young competitors are among the favorites in their respective divisions, with Galvao being the last silver medalist at under 77kg and Reis being the returning champion at under 66kg. They both represent Melqui Galvao Jiu-Jitsu and made their debuts together at ADCC 2022, with both of them immediately establishing themselves among the best grapplers on the planet. They would both be a top contender in any tournament they entered so naturally there was a lot of attention on where they decided to go.
Although they’re teammates, they have different considerations when it comes to making the choice between ADCC and the Craig Jones Invitational. Reis would be competing at under 80kg if he chose to do CJI and although he is incredibly skilled, he would be at a significant weight disadvantage in every pretty much match. Galvao on the other hand would fit in perfectly in the under 80kg division as far as size goes, but he has spent the entire of 2024 building up to a career-defining moment. He has won every major IBJJF event this year and secured an IBJJF grand slam, so now he hopes to become only the second person to do so in the same year that they win an ADCC title.
Weighing up the positives of doing ADCC 2024 on balance with the million dollars of prize money available at the Craig Jones Invitational must have been an incredibly difficult decision for Mica Galvao and Diogo Reis. That’s why their coach, Melqui Galvao, has specifically refused to answer the question when he was approached prior to the IBJJF World Championship this year. He explained that he wanted to wait until after that major tournament was out of the way before they made a decision together. Now that the dust has settled on that tournament, both of them have announced which way they’ll be going.
Both Mica Galvao and Diogo Reis announced their intention to compete at ADCC 2024 instead of switching to the Craig Jones Invitational in recent posts to their official Instagram accounts. They also added the following statements (Translated from the original Portuguese:
Mica Galvao: “At the beginning of the year, I had the idea to make as much money as possible to have a stable life and be able to help my family. I was gonna stay off the IBJJF circuit and focus on professional grappling events. But you guys asked me to wear the gi and convinced me at this point I should focus on building my legacy. I won the European, the Pan, the Brazilian, the World Championship, and the Grand Slam happened. I had the best performance in Jiu-Jitsu history conquering these four events having an over 81% submission rate and an average time of under five minutes per fight. We spent a lot of money on it but I believe we will reap the fruits of this project. Now I’m at an event of doing something that has only been done once and by the master Rubens ‘Cobrinha’ Charles, which is to win all the major gi events and the biggest grappling event in the same year, and I can’t pass up the opportunity to do it. ADCC is every athlete’s dream, Mo Jassim has done an amazing job making ADCC such an important and desired brand. On the other hand we have Craig Jones, who has come up with an amazing and different proposal offering a million dollars in prize money. Surely sport wins a lot from this and I would like to participate in this moment as well. If the Craig Jones Invitational event was just a day before ADCC I would definitely be fighting both at the same time. But since I have to choose one, I’ll go to ADCC. There’s no such thing as right and wrong. What exists is the moment and my moment is to try and build my legacy. I support both ADCC and CJI to be a success and grow a lot so that athletes have more and more opportunities.”
Diogo Reis: “Reaffirming my commitment to ADCC and Mo Jassim, and making lives easier for the people who will fight for $1 million. Take advantage, I’ll be there next one.”
