Start of the Event
Per the official ADCC schedule posted online, the doors were supposed to open at 10:00 am with a start time of 12:00 pm and 9:00 pm finish. I woke up at 8:00 am and hung out in my hotel room until 9:00 am. I planned to have a nice breakfast at the Dunkin next door and head over to the event. As I was having a wonderful doughnut and coffee at Dunkin around 9:15 am I got a call from one of my dojo partners asking where I was as he was at the event trying to save seats for our team. I was surprised and expected the event to not even be open until 10:00 am. He said that they moved up the schedule because it ran so long the previous day, and they were behind schedule. I’m not sure where my friend saw this update, but I didn’t see it anywhere and was disappointed at the prospect of missing fights and getting a bad seat because of a random unannounced schedule change.
I scarfed down my breakfast and headed over to the event. Funny enough the event didn’t start on time as expected and all was well as I didn’t miss any matches and got another good seat for the day’s events. I imagine though that some people attending the event didn’t get the message like I did and may have missed some of the matches.
Semi-final Fights
The event started with a flurry of excellent Jiu Jitsu on display with the semi-final matches in each weight division. Here are some of the highlights from my perspective:
- Kade Ruotolo continued his electric performance by subbing PJ Barch in his semi-final match. Kade was a crowd-pleasing favorite throughout the event. Mica Galvao also continued to march through the division setting up for an amazing final matchup with Kade.
- Giovani Bodoni hit a sick sneaky heel hook on Eoghan O’Flanagan who was probably one of the best leg lockers at the event.
- Rafael Lovato Jr. dropped his match to Kaynan Duarte and retired on the mat, another legendary career.
- Brianna Ste-Marie upset reigning champ Bianca Basilio to set up an electric matchup with Ffion Davies in the finals.
Hall of Fame Ceremony
After the semifinals came the first ever hall of fame induction ceremony. Inducted into the hall of fame were the following fighters:
- Ricardo Arona
- Braulio Estima
- André Galvão
- Marcelo Garcia
- Renzo Gracie
- Roger Gracie
- Royler Gracie
- Mark Kerr
- Dean Lister
- Rubens Charles Maciel
- Rafael Mendes
- Saulo Ribeiro
- Mário Sperry
- Baret Yoshida
These were absolute legends, and it was amazing seeing this group of fighters in one place speaking about their experience. Unfortunately, the ceremony was a complete trainwreck. The event stopped and it took some time to set up the stage for the ceremony. There were 14 inductees all of who had a short highlight video shown and then a few interview questions. This took forever. They played the video and then the fighter would come to the podium and get asked a few random questions by the interviewer. The questions didn’t seem to make sense for the setting and seemed like most of the fighters just wanted to give their own speech and reflect on their career and ADCC. It was painful to watch and those that disregarded the interview questions and made a speech were good and I enjoyed hearing them. I felt that the Hall of Fame ceremony should have been done separately from the actual event more respect and time given to each fighter. Another big mistake was when Renzo Gracie’s highlight video was shown Roger Gracie’s name on the screen before it played.
Big ups to Baret Yoshida who showed up to his induction wearing cargo shorts, a tee shirt, a cinch bag, and flip flops with socks, a true legend. It took even more time to break down the stage and prepare for the finals.
Weight Division Finals
The big guns were brought into the finals. To announce the fighters Pride FC announcer Lenne Hardt was brought out again to announce the fighters as they walked down the stage. Pyro technics, fog, and coordinated light show accompanied each fighter down the ramp. There was also a giant drum and drum line accompaniment that went off as the fighter walked to the mat. In a surprise move, Bruce Buffer was on hand to introduce both fighters when they were both on the mat. The finals matches were all held on the middle mat and the music was turned off during the fights.
Here are some of the division highlights from my perspective:
- Kade Ruotolo was the story of the event becoming the youngest competitor to ever win a division in ADCC history at 18. He had a spirited match with Mica Galvao and became the first person to submit Mica in competition.
- Giovani Bodoni continued his Cinderella run by capturing gold with a sub of Lucas Hulk Barbosa via rear naked choke.
- Craig Jones succumbed to Kaynan Duarte 12 – 0 in points. Kaynan controlled the top position throughout the match and was penalized 8 times for stalling. Kaynan was heavily booed after his victory. He dominated the match, but it was a bit hard to watch.
- Ffion Davies looked great throughout ADCC and dominated her final with Brianna Ste-Marie.
One funny thing that happened during the finals was the crowd interaction with the fighters once the music was turned off. It was quiet during the matches in between high action points and that’s when the beer-fueled crowd would start yelling encouragement. Some of my favorites included:
- Craig, grab his d*** and twist
- Craig, I subscribe to your OnlyFans
- I just hope you guys have fun
- Oil check him
- You guys are doing great
- Sweep the leg Johnny
- Shrimp!
- Chants of USA during a double Brazilian final
- Do it for Gabi, Craig
- Stand them up (during the super fight)
- My grandma bet on you Gordon
Absolute Division
After the division finals, it was time for the absolute. The absolute division started with three matches going at once and was at a good pace. I think the pace of the absolute should have happened throughout the tournament. Here are some of my highlights from the absolute division:
- Fabricio Andrey vs. Victor Hugo was a sight to see. Fabricio competed in the under 66kg division and Victor Hugo was one of the largest competitors at the tournament. Fabricio held his own but dropped a decision.
- Tye Ruotolo put on a show. Tye legitimately looked angry and utilized pure heart defeating Felipe Pena in the semi-finals scoring towards the end of the match. Tye lost a very close decision to Nicholas Meregali in the semifinals. The whole crowd was rooting for Tye throughout and he took home 3rd place.
- Yuri Simones took home the absolute title outpointing or decisioned all of his opponents.
Gordon Ryan and Andre Galvao Super Fight
The moment everybody was waiting for the super fight took place after the absolute division. The event kicked off with a short video showing the old school vs. new school and the brewing rivalry between Andre and Gordon. Lenne came out again to do the fighter walkout announcements. They used extra firework and pyro technics for both Gordon and Andre’s walkouts.
Bruce Buffer again announced the fighters, and you could feel the anticipation for what was anticipated to be the biggest match in grappling history. Both fighters looked jacked and ready for the moment and silence hushed over the crowd. Right before the match began somebody yelled “I just hope they have fun,” and a crowd legend was born.
Andre came out swinging by hard slap clubbing Gordon in the head. I’m sure this was payback for the slap heard around the world, but the ref took charge and shut that down quickly. What followed was another masterful grappling display by Gordon Ryan. Gordon would quickly take the back and lock in a body triangle then worked towards an RNC finish. A couple of funny things happened during the fight while Gordon was working the RNC finish.
At one point the ref was blocking the view of one side of the crowd and the crowd was yelling for the ref to move. I believe while trying to strangle Andre, Gordon told the ref about the situation and the ref moved. It took a while for Gordon to secure the choke and at one point the ref warned Gordon for action. Gordan looked at the ref and said something to the effect that he was trying to strangle Andre, but it isn’t easy again getting laughs from the crowd. Andre eventually succumbed to the choke and Gordon capped an amazing and from a viewer’s perspective limited effort running through his division and the super fight.
Conclusion
And thus concluded ADCC 2022 in Las Vegas. There was a medal ceremony planned at the Cox Pavilion. I walked over there but was way too hungry and tired to stick around and watch the presentation. I headed over to Subway for dinner and then to my hotel for a few hours of sleep before catching my flight home in the morning. Overall, there were many production and scheduling opportunities, but the fighters carried the event and the level of Jui Jitsu on display was almost unimaginable. The cost of the trip was well worth the experience. I would be returning home with a renewed vigor to train and continue my journey with Jiu Jitsu.