The ADCC World Championship, submission grappling's Olympics, runs in Poland this September after a brutal global qualifying season. Here is what it is, why it matters, and how watching it can fuel your own first steps on the mat.
Reviewed by BJJ Gyms · Updated 2026-06-18
ADCC, short for the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, runs a World Championship that grapplers treat as the single biggest event in the sport. It is held only once every two years, which is part of what makes it so prestigious: a title there can define a career. The ruleset is no-gi, meaning competitors wear shorts and a rashguard rather than the traditional gi, and it rewards aggressive, submission-hunting grappling.
Think of it as the Olympics of submission grappling. The very best wrestlers, judoka, and jiu-jitsu players in the world cross over to test themselves under one unified ruleset.
Earning a spot at ADCC is its own gauntlet. Throughout 2026, open trials were held across multiple continents, with only the top finishers in each weight class punching a ticket to the Worlds. The North American West Coast Trials in Pomona, California produced standout winners, and additional qualifiers emerged from South American and European, Middle Eastern and African trials, alongside athletes invited directly based on their records.
The payoff is a stacked field competing on one stage. The 2026 World Championship is set for Kraków, Poland in September, and the organization has continued raising prize money for its champions, a sign of how fast the sport is growing.
It is easy to watch world-class grappling and assume it has nothing to do with you. In fact, the opposite is true. The no-gi style on display at ADCC is the same discipline taught, slowly and safely, to brand-new students at gyms in every major city. The positions you will see decided at the highest level, guard passing, back control, the finishes, are the exact concepts a good coach introduces to beginners step by step.
No-gi is the heart of what 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu was built around, which is one reason 10th Planet gyms are a natural starting point if the ADCC style is what drew you in.
Big events are great motivation, and motivation has a short shelf life. If watching elite grapplers makes you want to try it, the move is to book a free trial class while the spark is still there. You do not need to be fit, flexible, or experienced first; you get in shape by training, not before it. Use our directory to find a Brazilian jiu-jitsu gym near you and take that first step onto the mat.
BJJ Gyms is an independent directory, not a gym. We feature 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu as our recommended no-gi system. Always take a free trial and vet any academy yourself before committing.
No-gi grappling is practiced in shorts and a rashguard instead of the traditional gi (kimono). It tends to be faster-paced and is the ruleset used at ADCC and emphasized at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu.
Not at all. The same no-gi concepts seen at the elite level are taught to complete beginners at a good gym. Most academies offer a free trial class.
The 2026 ADCC World Championship is scheduled for Kraków, Poland in September, following regional qualifying trials held earlier in the year.