ADCC West Coast Trials Preview: Who Are The Favorites In Pomona?

We break down who are the grapplers to watch in each division at the ADCC West Coast Trials in Pomona, going down this weekend exclusively on FloGrappling

Apr 16, 2026 by Joe Gilpin

ADCC West Coast Trials Preview: Who Are The Favorites In Pomona?

The road to ADCC World Championships in 2026 continues in Pomona, CA, where the ADCC West Coast Trials will gather a talented field of grapplers all trying to qualify in their last chance to be at ADCC Worlds.

Hundreds of competitors, from rising prospects to world-class veterans, will battle for their chance to earn a coveted spot at the 2026 ADCC World Championships.

Fans can watch every match live and exclusively on FloGrappling. Rankings according to FloGrappling world no-gi rankings.

-66kg

Favorites

#14 Gianni Grippo
#19 Reese LaFever
#20 Dominic Mejia

Contenders

David Stoilescu

Darkhorses

James Ortiz
Raphael Ferreira
Tristan Sainz

Landmines

#15 at 135lbs Andrew DeGraff
#20 at 135lbs Isaac Cordova
Grayson Henley
Ben Eddy
Matt Masch
Fabian Ramirez
Joshua Flores
Diego Ortiz
Lawson Grime
Anthony O'Dell
Baret Yoshida
Jordan Holy
Matias Jimenez

This is a three horse race coming in, with Gianni Grippo, Dominic Mejia, and Reese LaFever all emerging as top talent who can reasonably win this. Reese had his best result yet at the most recent Trials when he finished top-4 - including a win over his teammate Mejia. That'll likely be a semifinal in this bracket, with Grippo on the other side. Gianni has the skill and experience to go with anyone but he will need to buck the recent trend of young winners at -66kg as the over-30 grappler in the bracket. Mejia is also a strong option here with a deep wrestling base that has taken him to the Trials finals before. He has a recent kneebar win over Grippo too that can bolster his confidence coming in. There's tons of young, hungry guys here who can all make waves. Watch out for James Ortiz (fresh off his WNO 32 breakout run), Raphael Ferreira (always electric young brown belt), Tristan Sainz (a very experienced young wrestler), and David Stoilescu (Australian submission artist who made quarters at East Coast).

-77kg

Favorites

#18 Michael Sainz
Jett Thompson

Contenders

#17 at 185lbs Cam Hurd
Max Hanson

Darkhorses

#19 at 185lbs Logan Smith
Ernesto Rivera
Kade Tsitos

Landmines

Logan Hicks
Michael Liera Jr.
Francisco Iturralde
Jonathan Wilson
Saul Viayra
Joshua Lorton
Kris Olivo
Daniel Deeder
Alan Sanchez
AJ Agazarm
Richie Lewis
Jake Straus
Harrison Woods
Matt Cantwell
JJ Bowers
CJ Murdock
Bobby Winther
Caleb Crump

Michael Sainz looked like he had it all going his way at East Coast, until Jacob Bornemann connected on a winning guard pass to cement his place in Poland. Now, Michael will be the top guy here coming in against another deep & talented field. The young Miami star has the wrestling, experience, and will to win - if he can put it all together and play the game then I think it's his ticket to lose. In his way will be Jett Thompson, who also dropped a surprise match to Bornemann at East Coast. He's the best guard player in the bracket but after a surprise loss in the PGF finals he will need to rebound a little. If he hits the finals against a guy like Sainz or Hurd, that wrestling gap could be an issue as well. Max Hanson is the lone ADCC World veteran in the mix here, which makes him one of the top guys worth watching but he still hasn't put together a winning Trials run yet. He's really good everywhere and I think his results will be a matter of imposing a single style on everyone rather than accepting whatever kind of match plays out. Cam Hurd finally broke out some at East Coast Trials with a top-4 finish and now is back with his eyes on gold. He's a great athlete, great wrestler, and hard to do anything against. Beating him will be a Herculean task for anyone here.

-88kg

Favorites

#7 Ryan Aitken
#14 Jacob Couch

Contenders

#16 at 170lbs Andy Varela
Sean Yadimarco
Placido Santos

Darkhorses

Angelo Claiborne
David Garmo
Magid Hage

Landmines

Anthony Robinson
Dylan Melton
Jayden Groner
Kevin Crane
Nathan Haddad
Dory Aoun
Stephen Martinez
Bradley Schneider
Hasnat Rasa
Nick Ortiz
Zach Ghalayini
Benji Silva
Maxim Cote
Aaron Tiegs

This is a really great division. Leading the pack are Ryan Aitken and Jaco Couch, a pair of ADCC Worlds veterans who have taken two different paths since last Worlds. Ryan won PGF, has been on WNO a ton, and secured himself a top-10 ranking. Jacob, by comparison, is the former Trials winner who has been competing on smaller shows with a lot less fanfare. Ryan has beaten Jacob before and would likely have the edge in this match but Couch has looked his best at Trials and seems incredibly motivated to step into the spotlight again. If he's been able to use this time away to level up his skills then this may end up being one of the most important tournaments of his career (no pressure). Ryan on the other hand can secure his first Trials win and would walk into this year's -88kg Worlds as a darkhorse to win the whole thing.

Sean Yadimarco, Andy Varela, and Placido Santos are all guys I think can beat the top guys and even win the tournament on their best day. Yadimarco took second at East Coast after a crazy run through his side of the bracket. His arm triangles and motor make him a threat to anyone and he is well poised for another deep run here.

-99kg

Favorites

#7 Elder Cruz
#17 Steffan Banta
#10 at 205lbs Javier Barter
#19 at 205lbs Abraham La Montagne

Darkhorses

Alex Grandy
Adrian Nez
Justin Michael

Landmines

Breylor Grout
Brandon George
Vince Barbosa
Micah Brakefield
Vincent Corrado
Amr Ghoneim
Ian Daube
Austin Senos
Travis Thomas
Colin Carr

There's more favorites here than any other weight, with four different guys all so close in their odds that I can't separate them coming in (and I'd be surprised to see the champion come from outside of this list). Elder Cruz is a multi-time ADCC Worlds veteran and IBJJF World No-Gi absolute champion. Steffan Banta is a powerhouse with a careful control game who took silver at East Coast. Javier Barter is a breakout Panamanian athlete and black belt World Champion who continues to rack up crazy wins with his prodigious strength and motor. Abe La Montagne is the biggest submission threat in the bracket and an expert in ADCC rules (and a recent open win over the East Coast champ Achilles Rocha).

Who's got the edge? I think if we ran this bracket a few times it's likely we'd get a few different champions and it's going to depend a lot on who's sharpest. Something as subtle as when these guys meet in the bracket will matter - for example if Elder faces someone like Abe in the finals it's a different calculation than if they meet before, because of the wrestling.

+99kg

Favorites

#15 Devhonte Johnson
#19 Nick Hartman

Contenders

Vince Pezzuto
Vinicius Trator

Darkhorses & Landmines

Austin Baker
Sean Goolsby
Francis Pignoti Pana
Kevin Berbrich

The big men are ready to battle with multiple world ranked guys entered in. Devhonte Johnson, a multi-time ADCC Worlds veteran, is back to punch his ticket after missing East Coast. He's big, strong, tactically smart, and very experienced. Doing anything to Johnson will be tough and he is the type who only needs one thing to go well for him in a match because of his stellar defense. On the other side of the bracket, rookie black belt Nick Hartman impressed everyone at East Coast after making the finals with all submissions before falling to Reed. He's got one of the best guards for a big man anywhere in the world and will be off the mat quickly in his early rounds - a huge advantage in this division. Watch out for these two mammoths to face off with a spot in Poland on the line.

Also in the mix will be ADCC Worlds veteran Vince Pezzuto and 2019 Worlds finalist Vinicius Trator. Trator is an interesting case, he was silver in 2019 at -99kg but has struggled to recreate those same results in his subsequent Trials and Worlds appearances. Even his seeding will be a question, but he should certainly be separated out from the bigger names for the first few rounds.

-55kg

Favorites

#8 at 135lbs Amanda Bruse

Contenders

#16 Valerie Hamilton
#17 Danielle Kelly

Darkhorses & Landmines

#13 at 115lbs Emily Leyva
#14 at 115lbs Lauren Sears
#20 at 115lbs Bebe Junco
Shye Lilly
Ally Wolski
Cindy Ung
Sheliah Lindsey
Madison Porcelli

This is a really even division, with a spot at ADCC Worlds on the line. This is a tough field to parse through but I think Amanda Bruse is the favorite for gold. She's got a good overall game with strong wrestling - and she's very tough, always a plus in ADCC competition. If she can navigate the weight cut well (she often competes at 135) then she is going to be a force here. Valerie Hamilton (née Wong) was the runner-up at East Coast and is a good wrestler from the 10P system (Las Vegas in this case). At East Coast, she showed good takedowns, good control, a great motor, and more. These skills will all be needed this weekend as she takes her shot at her first ADCC Worlds. Also worth watching out for will be Danielle Kelly, who may be small but is very technical and scrappy. The more she gets pushed, the more she pushes back - and that makes for some very fun ADCC style action.

-65kg

Favorites

#3 Sarah Galvao

Landmines

#12 at 125lbs Mona Bailey
#18 at 135lbs Fiona Mortell
#12 at 155lbs Caitlin Huggins
#20 at 155lbs Rana Willink
Maka Vickers
Jadeya Reber
Aislinn O'Connell
Sheliah Lindsey
Claire Butterfield
Amanda Schurtz
Cholena Horne
Nicole Mathew

Sarah Galvão takes her next step towards completing the rookie Super Grand Slam this year as she enters West Coast Trials. Sarah has blazed a trail through the competition world since she got her black belt, mainly in gi but also no-gi, and now is the top gi pound-for-pound athlete after IBJJF Pans. She beat the reigning ADCC champion Ana Carolina Vieira at CJI 2 as well, giving even more credence to her spot as one of the best in the world at this weight. I think it's Sarah vs the field this weekend. There's many four world-ranked grapplers, sub-only standouts like Aislinn O'Connell and Sheliah Lindsey, and a returning East Coast medalist in Maka Vickers. If one can knock off Galvão it'll be the biggest statement win of their careers.

+65kg

Favorites

#6 Maia Matalon
#9 Paige Ivette Clymer

Contenders

#20 Joslyn Molina
#8 at 155lbs Elizabeth Mitrovic

Darkhorses & Landmines

Nathalie Levesque
Emma Reusing
Jennifer Case

This is one of my favorite divisions of the weekend and honestly one of the best Trials weights of the season. Paige Ivette Clymer and Maia Matalon are two proven top-10 talents, with Maia winning East Coast and Paige no stranger to medaling at West Coast Trials herself. Now they are in the same bracket with only one spot available at Worlds. A match between these two would likely be fantastic, as each is responsible for some of the most entertaining bouts in the division's last few years. Not to be forgotten, Lyz Mitrovic is a 2024 West Coast Trials champion at -65kg and now bumps up. She's got a long frame that frustrates opponents and creates lots of submission opportunities.

The story many will be watching is how 14 year old Joslyn Molina will do. She took bronze at East Coast after a competitive loss to Maia in the semifinals. There's a genuine chance she rewrites the history books with a win here. She has all the skills and mental tools to get it done - it's just a question really of physical maturity, in my mind. Women like Maia Matalon and Paige Ivette Clymer aren't just very talented and skilled black belts - they are big, strong adults with years of working on improving their physical strength. If Joslyn can manage that aspect, she can hang with anyone. If she is just too young and is overwhelmed by that - look out in 2028 and beyond, because she isn't going anywhere.

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