ADCC organizers gave Mateusz Gamrot a discretionary invitation to compete in Krakow. The UFC lightweight contender's wrestling pedigree is real, his home crowd will be enormous, and his presence raises the question of how elite wrestling performs under pure grappling rules.
Reviewed by BJJ Gyms · Updated 2026-07-27
Gamrot's ADCC invitation puts one of Poland's top combat athletes in front of a home crowd at a historic event. Sources: Yahoo Sports ADCC 2026; FloGrappling.
Mateusz Gamrot is a UFC lightweight contender with a wrestling background that has made him one of the most technically credentialed takedown artists in the division. He has competed at the highest levels of MMA as well as in kickboxing, making him an elite combat sports crossover athlete. ADCC organizers gave him a discretionary invitation to the Krakow event, and the decision reflects both the genuine quality of his wrestling and grappling credentials and the obvious commercial appeal of having a prominent Polish combat athlete competing at the first-ever Polish ADCC World Championship.
Gamrot received his invitation in the -77kg division, where he will face an invitation bracket that includes international-level BJJ and submission grappling competitors. The discretionary invitation system at ADCC exists to allow organizers to include athletes whose credentials and appeal merit inclusion beyond the regional trial qualification route. Gamrot's credentials merit inclusion on his wrestling alone; the Krakow location makes the invitation an obvious choice.
Also receiving a discretionary invitation to compete in Krakow is Mateusz Szczeciński, another Polish grappler, giving the event a strong local presence that will amplify the home-crowd atmosphere. Poland hosting the ADCC World Championship for the first time is itself a significant milestone for European grappling, and the presence of two Polish competitors with genuine credentials adds a sporting dimension to what is already a culturally significant event.
ADCC rules create a specific environment that is simultaneously favorable and challenging for wrestlers. The scoring system does not give points for takedowns alone in the early stages of a match; points are earned for taking the back, reaching mount or the rear mount position, knee-on-belly, or earning an advantage through submission attempts. A wrestler who takes someone down and holds top position without working toward more advanced positions or submission attempts may find themselves controlling the match without accumulating the points that lead to a win.
The submission-attempt scoring dynamic, where an unsuccessful submission attempt that comes close can still earn a point at ADCC, is actually favorable for wrestlers who are willing to mix wrestling with submission attempts from top position. Gamrot's MMA game includes ground-and-pound and positional control, and if he applies those same top-position instincts in the direction of submission attempts at ADCC rather than strikes, he has the wrestling base to establish the top position he would need to make those attempts.
The challenge for Gamrot will be the pure BJJ practitioners in his bracket who are exceptionally well-trained in exactly the submission-attempt game that ADCC rewards. Many of the competitors who qualify through ADCC regional trials are submission grapplers who have trained specifically for the ADCC rule set for years. Gamrot is a world-class wrestler competing in their environment, which means his wrestling will get him to top position, but what he does from there will determine whether he wins or loses matches.
Krakow's Tauron Arena will seat nearly 12,000 people for ADCC 2026, making it one of the largest live audiences for a submission grappling event in history. Poland hosting the ADCC World Championship for the first time creates a national sporting moment for Polish combat sports fans, and the presence of Gamrot, one of the country's most prominent active MMA fighters, as a ADCC competitor will significantly amplify that audience's engagement.
Home-crowd effects at grappling events are real in their own specific ways. The energy of a supportive crowd can create momentum in a difficult match and can affect an athlete's willingness to take risks that might not pay off in a neutral setting. For Gamrot, competing in front of tens of thousands of his home country's fans adds a dimension that is not present in any of his UFC appearances and creates a motivation that pure sports analysts might underestimate.
For the event itself, having a local athlete who is genuinely competitive rather than a ceremonial participant creates the kind of storyline that brings crossover sports fans to grappling events. Polish sports fans who would not ordinarily watch ADCC will be watching Gamrot's matches. If he performs well, even in defeat, he becomes an ambassador for the sport in Poland in a way that has long-term effects on the grappling community in that country.
ADCC 2026 streams exclusively on FloGrappling, the dedicated combat sports streaming platform that covers ADCC, IBJJF, and other major grappling competitions. A FloSports subscription provides access to the full ADCC 2026 event on September 12-13 from Krakow, including both the opening rounds and the finals, as well as the super fight between former absolute champions Kaynan Duarte and Yuri Simoes.
For practitioners who train BJJ and want to use ADCC as an educational experience, the event provides a rare opportunity to watch world-class athletes apply the same techniques you are working on in the gym under the highest possible competitive pressure. What works at ADCC tends to be what is genuinely sound, not what works only against lower-level resistance. Watching Gamrot specifically will illustrate how wrestling-based top game performs against elite submission grapplers, which is one of the most practically useful technical demonstrations the sport can provide.
If the ADCC 2026 preview has you motivated to get on the mat yourself, use BJJGyms.org to find a jiu-jitsu gym near you. Most gyms offer a free introductory class, and many of the techniques you will see at ADCC, particularly the no-gi leg lock game, back takes, and wrestling-to-submission chains, are taught in beginner and intermediate classes at gyms that teach a no-gi-focused system like 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. There is no better time to start training than when the sport's biggest event is two months away.
Even if you have never watched a submission grappling event before, ADCC 2026 has compelling storylines across multiple divisions. Here is why September is worth putting on the calendar.
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.
Gamrot received a discretionary invitation from ADCC organizers, which is one of two qualification routes alongside regional trials. ADCC reserves discretionary invitations for athletes whose credentials and appeal merit inclusion beyond what the trial system produces. Gamrot qualified on the strength of his wrestling background and MMA career.
Gamrot is competing in the -77kg division at ADCC 2026. This is one of the deepest and most competitive brackets at the event.
ADCC 2026 takes place September 12-13, 2026, at Tauron Arena in Krakow, Poland. It streams exclusively on FloGrappling.
Use the gym finder at BJJGyms.org to search for Brazilian jiu-jitsu and no-gi grappling gyms by your location. Most offer a free introductory class. If you want to train specifically the no-gi techniques featured at ADCC, look for 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu affiliates or gyms with a dedicated no-gi program.