Female grapplers are banding together to push ADCC for change in the face of a very uneven qualification system at ADCC Trials, and a petition has now been launched to achieve that goal. The problem that this petition aims to solve is that although there 8 Trials events taking place all around the world, women currently only win an invite to ADCC in half of them. The reason being that the women’s divisions at ADCC only have 8 competitors, whereas the men’s divisions are twice the size at 16 in each. Because ADCC also likes to invite half the bracket based on past performances there, that only leaves 4 Trials invites for women.
The petition was started by top European competitor Injana Goodman, who actually won ADCC Trials just a few weeks ago. She won a gold medal in the under 65kg division of the ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, & African Trials 2025 but because this is the first event of this cycle, she did not win an invite:
“If I were a man, I would be going to ADCC Worlds right now. I won the first European trials on the 6th of September—but because I am a woman, the first trials don’t count for me. That means I won’t be going to ADCC Worlds. Women only get one chance to qualify, in early 2026, while men get two. And while men have five weight classes, women only have three. This is not fair.”
Goodman went on to explain why she believes that the current setup is unfair and the effects she believes it has on the sport:
“This disparity is a clear example of inequality. Women in BJJ train and compete just as hard as men, but we are not given the same fair chance to earn our place on the world stage. This unfair system not only harms individual careers—it limits the visibility, growth, and professionalism of BJJ as a sport. It also undermines ADCC as an organisation by preventing the best talent from being showcased on its biggest stage.”
The current system has been in place for quite some time and the only major change was the addition of a third weight class and an absolute last year. Although that decision was progress compared to recent years, many feel that it doesn’t go far enough. Goodman used examples of other promotions to show that more can be done:
“Some argue that there aren’t enough women at this level, or that women’s matches don’t attract the same audience. This is simply not true. The growth of women’s divisions across IBJJF, ONE Championship, CJI, and UFC shows that fans are eager to watch world-class female athletes. Representation creates interest: when women are given platforms, viewership grows, role models are created, and the sport as a whole benefits. By holding women back, ADCC isn’t reflecting demand—it’s suppressing it.”
The goals for the petition are twofold, as they have plans in mind for both ADCC 2026 and 2028 that will eventually level the playing field completely:
- “For 2026: Run 16-woman brackets at ADCC Worlds, equal to the men. The simplest way to do this would be to invite all women’s trial winners to Worlds (both first and second trials).”
- “For 2028 and beyond: Equal size brackets for everyone AND expand to five women’s weight classes.”
For anyone interested in supporting the petition to change ADCC Trials and give the same opportunities to both men and women, it can be found here.
