- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,245,056
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 02: Adele Fornarino prepares to face Alex Enriquez in a women's flyweight match during the UFC BJJ 7 event at Meta APEX on April 02, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
There have been two major changes to the upcoming 2026 ADCC World Championships line up, including one that many in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) community has been asking for a long time.
ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials winner Izaak Michell has an active warrant for “second degree sexual assault” in Texas, and has reportedly been on the run from authorities this past year. After multiple women reportedly came forward to the authorities, several high-profile BJJ athletes have criticized the ADCC for keeping a wanted rape suspect on their official list of invited competitors for months.
That has finally changed, with the ADCC’s latest update showing that Michell will no longer be part of the world’s most prestigious no gi tournament. No official statement has been released on the change, but the promotion has quietly updated their ADCC 2026 list to remove Michell from their 77 kg tournament.
Replacing him is Taylor Pearman, a British star from Polaris’ team grappling events and former ADCC Trials winner.
The full ADCC 2026 fight card and list of competitors can be found here.
Adele Fornarino out of ADCC 2026 after UFC BJJ tournament booking
The ADCC 2026 line up also took a hit, as it has lost yet another reigning champion that was previously confirmed. In the same update from the promotion, Adele Fornarino has been removed from the official list of competitors. The current ADCC double gold medalist has since been replaced on the women’s -55 kg tournament by Trials silver medalist Valerie Wong Hamilton.
Fornarino’s removal marks the fourth reigning ADCC champion that will no longer be returning to defend their titles.
The change comes soon after Fornarino was announced to be participating in UFC BJJ’s flyweight tournament. She faces Carol Brunacio in the semi-finals at UFC BJJ 10 on August 20, with UFC BJJ bantamweight champ Cassia Moura vs. Bre Tikk on the other side of the bracket.
The finals will happen at a later date and will crown the inaugural UFC BJJ flyweight champion, and could conflict with ADCC 2026 on September 12-13. Executives also previously announced that they plan to strictly enforce their exclusive contracts, and there are currently zero UFC BJJ champions listed for ADCC 2026.
Outside of kicking off the flyweight tournament, UFC BJJ 10 will also have three title bouts.
Their following event, UFC BJJ 11 on September 24, will have the crossover (mis)match between bantamweight champ Mikey Musumeci and UFC star Bryce Mitchell. It will also have a spectacular title bout between light heavyweight champ Mason Fowler and CJI champ Nick Rodriguez.
You must be registered for see images attach
UFC BJJ 10 fight card
UFC BJJ 10, August 20, 2026
- Andrew Tackett vs. Jonnatas Gracie [WW title]
- Rebeca Lima vs. Brianna Ste-Marie [FW title]
- Renato Canuto vs. Ethan Crelinsten [LW title]
- William Tackett vs. Fedor Nikolov
- Vagner Rocha vs. Andy Varela
- Cassia Moura vs. Bre Stikk [Tournament semis]
- Adele Fornarino vs. Carol Brunacio [Tournament semis]
- Ana Lima vs. Danielle Kelly
FOR THE LATEST BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (BJJ) AND GRAPPLING-RELATED NEWS CLICK HERE. FOR ADDITIONAL GRAPPLING CONTENT, FOLLOW @BJJBEAT ON INSTAGRAM.
Continue reading...
