Favorites and contenders: Previewing the 55kg division at the 2024 ADCC World Championships
The 2024 ADCC World Championships take place on August 17-18 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Grappling Insider will be previewing every division at the event. Check out a preview of the 66kg division here, the 77kg division here, the 88kg division here, the 99kg division here, and the +99kg division here.
The 2024 ADCC World Championships will see the much-welcome and long-awaited addition of a third women’s weight class. With the new, eight-woman division, many competitors who were undersized for the 60kg bracket now have a new lease at 55kg.
The smallest women’s division is packed with elite talent, even if it’s missing 2022 ADCC world champion Ffion Davies and previously invited former champion Mackenzie Dern, both of whom opted to compete in a superfight at the inaugural CJI.
With Davies out, the 55kg division might be the hardest bracket to predict for the entire tournament. Former ADCC champion Bianca Basilio and decorated IBJJF world champions like Mayssa Bastos and Anna Rodrigues stand out, but they’ll face fierce competition from dangerous rising stars.
Before we dive into the favorites, contenders, and dark horses of the division, check out the lineup of 55kg competitors below. For a full list of every athlete competing at the 2024 ADCC World Championships, go here.
Women’s 55kg
- Margot Ciccarelli (European Trials winner)
- Anna Rodrigues (South American Trials winner)
- Mayssa Bastos (invite)
- Jasmine Rocha (West Coast Trials winner)
- Bianca Basilio (invite)
- Adele Fornarino (Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
- Alex Enriquez (invite)
- Brenda Larissa (invite)
Favorite: Bianca Basilio
While no single woman looks to be the clear favorite at 55kg, 2019 champion Bianca Basilio is the division’s only ADCC medal winner.
A well-rounded and scrappy veteran, Basilio has proven herself at the highest levels of competition time and time again. She is likely one of the bracket’s top two wrestlers – a skill that complements her high-paced guard passing, strong back-takes, and devastatingly powerful straight ankle lock. What’s more, she is a physically imposing athlete who is able to push a torrid pace for as long as the match lasts.
Simply put, as the most decorated ADCC competitor at 55kg, Basilio will have a target on her back.
Contenders: Jasmine Rocha, Mayssa Bastos, Adele Fornarino
Realistically, any of the remaining seven women in the bracket stand a good chance of making it to the podium if not winning gold. Still, several names stand out as top contenders.
Jasmine Rocha will join her brother Achilles and father Vagner in her quest for ADCC gold. Although Rocha will be making her ADCC Worlds debut, she has loads of experience under the ruleset, having made it to the podium of multiple Trials events and competed regularly at ADCC Opens. That experience has helped her to develop a style that’s made for the ruleset, all while she’s maintained her reputation as one of the sport’s top closed guard players – and one of its hardest to score on.
Nine-time IBJJF world champion and current ONE submission grappling world champion Mayssa Bastos is regarded as the greatest-ever of the sport’s lightest weight classes thanks to her vaunted open guard and berimbolo game. A true technical master, Bastos is perhaps the best pound-for-pound guard player in all of BJJ. Her downfall, though, remains her wrestling and relatively small size for the division – issues she’ll need to work around if she hopes to take home ADCC gold.
Australian star Adele Fornarino has quietly become one of BJJ’s fastest-rising stars, thanks to wins over the likes of Amanda “Tubby” Alequin and Anna Rodrigues. The Atos representative is a well-rounded submission hunter who is particularly dangerous when attacking the legs. Her recent victory over Rodrigues at Who’s Number One, while not particularly filled with action, proved she can grapple at a high pace for 15 minutes and has the technical skill to hang with the best.
Dark horses: Alex Enriquez, Anna Rodrigues
Fans should pay close attention to 2023 IBJJF no-gi world champion Alex Enriquez. After winning gold at the East Coast Trials, she came up short against Rocha in the final of the West Coast Trials but has done more than enough to warrant an invite to the big show. An excellent takedown artist and guard passer, Enriquez boasts victories over Fornarino and Amanda Bruse, as well as a win over Rocha. If she can put it all together when it matters the most, Enriquez could enjoy a breakout weekend at ADCC 2024.
Finally, decorated gi competitor Anna Rodrigues has looked strong in her first ADCC run, winning gold at South American Trials. The Brazilian is a master tactician – a skill set honed over years of competing on the IBJJF circuit. She also might be the division’s best pure athlete, making her a legitimate threat to any woman at 55kg.
How to watch: The 2024 ADCC World Championships take place on August 17-18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will air live on FloGrappling (subscription required).
