ADCC veteran Kennedy Maciel was in rare form on Saturday at the 2024 ADCC 1st South American Trials in Belo Horzonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, submitting three of his six opponents and not conceding a point throughout the event, punching his ticket to the 2024 ADCC World Championships at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Maciel, already a two-time ADCC veteran, had been invited to ADCC in his first two appearances, and had never won a Trials event. He appeared dominant in the 66kg division, defeating Kauã Gabriel of Escola Melqui Galvão in the final to earn his ADCC 2024 berth.

The Melqui Galvão athletes showed out at 66kg, where the team fielded nine athletes in a 65-man division. Kauã Gabriel got the furthest of the bunch, reaching the semifinal. But the story of the day was 15-year old Kalebe Pereira, the blue belt who took fourth place, losing to his teammate in the semifinal after a hard-fought victory over black belt Felipe Machado.

See the full list of athletes officially invited or quailified for the 2024 ADCC World Championships here!

88kg champion Charles Negromante fought through a gauntlet to win his first ADCC Trials, earning his spot at ADCC 2024 after nearly seven years of misses.

Negromante downed two ADCC veterans on his path. First, he defeated 2022 Trials winner Isaque Bahiense in the quarterfinals. Then, in the final, he defeated 2019 winner Gabriel Almeida with a submission from the back in the closing seconds of the bout. In the semifinal, Negromante defeated tough Dream Art comptitor Rafael Paganini. With his win, Negromante became the oldest winner of the five men who qualified, at 35-years old.

Gabriel Almeida, the division silver medalist, had a 100-percent submission rate en route to the division final.

Six Blades representative Cassio Felipe Costa, on the other hand, was the youngest Trials winner from this event, at 24-years old. 'Laranjinha' submitted three of his four opponents to win, becoming the second Six Blades representative to qualify for ADCC in the 2024 season. Last month, Six Blades athlete Aurelie Le Vern won the 2nd European Trials, earning her spot in the -65kg division.

Costa's win came in his first attempt at an ADCC Trials event.

Alliance athlete Luiz Paulo Medeiros punched his way through seven matches to earn his first ADCC outing, earning seven submission wins including rear naked choke victory off of an intense scramble in the final. On his way there, Medeiros defeated ADCC veteran Magid Hage, and submitted division standout Fabyury Khrystyan.

Jose Inacio Dos Santos took the +99kg division gold, defeating Antonio Assef in the final. He went un-scored on throughout five matches, and tallied 11 points for, including six in his final bout.

Three women took home gold, but have not yet earned a spot at ADCC 2024, as only the second of each regional trials counts for female athletes. Still, their victories guaruntee them high seeds in next weekend's 2nd South American Trials in São Paulo.

Alliance athlete Brenda Larissa went 3-0 at -55kg with two submission victories including a quick finish in the final. Maria Ruffatto also went 3-0 at +65kg with two submissions, and scored a lightning fast armbar finish in her final bout. And Escola Melqui Galvão purple belt Ana Keyla Queiroz won her first two bouts by submission, then her final on points to win -65kg. 

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