There are several returning world champions who will be competing at ADCC 2024, and now three more have been invited to join their ranks in different divisions. There are never any easy brackets at the ADCC world championship, and even with the Craig Jones Invitational taking place at the same time, this year’s edition is clearly going to be no exception. There will be ADCC Trials winners stepping on the mats alongside veteran competitors and former champions in pretty much every weight class, the full lineup for each division looks very exciting even though it’s still currently being announced at the time of writing.
Amy Campo is the only woman in this latest batch of competitors to be invited, and she’s also the most recent champion as well. Campo won the over 60kg division at ADCC 2022, taking home the title on her very first attempt after a series of 3 incredibly tough matches. She won’t have the chance to defend her title due to the fact that the women’s weight classes have changed to accommodate a third division as of this year. This means that she will be competing in the over 65kg division this time around and as she pursues her second title, she also has the opportunity for a third thanks to ADCC adding a women’s absolute division this year as well.
The next invite to a former champion went to a man who hasn’t actually competed in any professional grappling matches in the last 3 years, as he’s been focusing on his MMA career instead. Davi Ramos won his ADCC title in the under 77kg division in 2015 and although he was already an MMA fighter at the time, his career went into overdrive after that. He made it to the UFC and enjoyed a 7-fight stint there before parting ways with the promotion and moving to Absolute Championship Akhmat. Ramos was actually supposed to return at ADCC 2022 but was replaced when he ran into visa issues, so now he gets a second chance at the under 77kg division this year.
The final of these three invites has gone Vinny Magalhaes, who will actually have a very busy weekend over the course of ADCC 2024. Not only will he be competing in the over 99kg division once again, but he will also be getting inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame. Magalhaes has been a permanent fixture at ADCC since 2009, competing at every single event since then and currently holding a record of 19-9 in world championship matches. His crowning achievement was the gold medal he won at over 99kg in 2011, but he has also earned three bronze medals across the under 99kg, over 99kg, and absolute divisions over the years.
The three former champions who have just been invited to ADCC 2024 were announced in a series of posts to the promotion’s official Instagram account: