Watch the UFC veteran from Poland take on the semifinalist from ADCC 2024.

Vagner Rocha and Miami neighbor, 20-year old Michael Sainz kept their first round match razor thin until the final minute, where Sainz miss-timed his guard pull. The judges decided that Sainz hadn't attacked his shot for long enough before sitting back, and punished him with a penalty. That was the deciding factor in the match.

Rocha will advance to take on the winner of Magomed Dzharbaev and Aexandre Robinho, currently on Mat 2.

Here's what's coming up later today in the -88kg division:

• Felipe Costa vs Pawel Jaworski
• Lucas Kanard vs Gabriel Brod
• Chris Wojcik vs Jozef Chen
• Nathan Haddad vs Marlon Tajik

North American Trials Winner Nathan Haddad wins his ADCC debut, knocking off highly-decorated jiu-jitsu world champion Gustavo Batista in the round of 16. Haddad will face Marlon Tajik in the quarterfinals.

Sweden's Marlon Tajik earned the submission over fellow European Faris Ben-Lamkiden via rear naked choke in the final 18 seconds of the match. The bout, which went deep into overtime, featured nearly 15-minutes of back and forth wrestling scramble.

As the first round of the -88kg division comes to a close on mats 2 &3, the -77kg division is beginning on Mat 1 with Vagner Rocha vs Michael Sainz. Here's what to expect in the round of 16:

• Vagner Rocha vs Michael Saenz
• Alexander De Jesus "Robinho" vs Magomed Dzharbaev
• Elijah Dorsey vs Matheus Gamrot
• Matheus Szczinski vs Julio Martins
• PJ Barch vs Kaya Rudolph
• Tommy Langaker vs Taylor Pearman
• Dante Leon vs Nikolay Betrov
• Oliver Taza vs Jacob Bornemann

Wojcik's eyebrow was opened up at the very beginning on the match. The two ADCC veterans went back and forth in a demonstration of wrestling, leg attacks, and, in the final 30-seconds a three point back take immediately into submission. Wojcik will advance to take on former B-Team teammate Jozef Chen in the quarterfinal.

Chen will advance to face Chris Wojcik or Santeri Lilius, who are currently engaged in a back-and-forth match on Mat 1.

It's not that every ADCC veteran has fallen, of course. But we're absolutely witnessing some breakout performances from newcomers. Here are the matches in which an ADCC rookie has defeated a veteran (so far).

• Nick Hartman def Haisam Rida (guillotine)
• Daniel Schuard def Michael Pixley (ankle lock)
• Steffen Banta def Patrick Gaudio (points)
• Pawel Jaworski def Roberto Dib Frias (ankle lock)
• Lucas Kanard def Matheus Diniz (points)
• Gabriel Brod def Jon Blank (points)

Jon Blank was all offense in the early stages of bout vs South American Trials winner Gabriel Brod. But Brod weathered the storm of leg attacks, and counter attacked with a pass in the final moments of the match. He snowballed his lead from there, winning via nine point margin with a katagatame locked in as time expired.

Brod will advance to face Lucas Kanard in the quarterfinals.

Australia's Lucas Kanard and Brazil's Matheus Diniz went back and forth in their opener at -88kg, both taking turns with significant submission attempts and compelling positional work. But Kanard took Diniz' back in the points period of regulation, and rode the three-point margin to the end to advance to the quarterfinal. 

He'll face the winner of Gabriel Brod vs Jon Blank, currently on Mat 2.

Poland's Pawel Jaworski scored a gnarly ankle lock submission against the usually ironclad submission defense of Roberto Dib Frias. He'll move on to face Felipe Costa in the quarterfinal.

Roberto Cyborg and Eli Braz went to decision (the first of the day) to finish off the -99kg round of 16. Cyborg took the victory to move ahead. Here's how the -99kg quarterfinals at ADCC 2026 will shape up:

• Kaynan Duarte vs Javier Zaruski
• Daniel Schuardt vs Eoghan O'Flanigan
• Luke Griffith vs Steffen Banta
• Achilles Rocha vs Roberto Cyborg

Once again, the opening rounds are delivering a spectacle. Five of the eight matches ended via submission.

Felipe Costa proved why he was the no.1 seed, picking up a triangle submission over Polish opponent Mateusz Mazur within the first two minutes of the bout. He'll take on Roberto Dib Frias or Pavel Jaworski, currently on Mat 1.

Achilles Rocha and Declan Moody delivered the early match of the day. That's not a surprise given both of their styles.

What is surprising is the way Rocha outclassed Moody in the closing moments of the match. Moody was a reasonable pick to win the division, but Rocha took matters into his own hands, scoring 12 points on the Australian to move ahead. He'll face the winner of Cyborg vs Eli Braz, currently in overtime on Mat 2.

Here's what's coming up in the round of 16:

• Felipe Costa vs Mateusz Mazur
• Pavel Jaworski vs Roberto Dib Frias
• Matheus Diniz vs Lucas Kanard
• Jon Blank vs Gabriel Brod
• Chris Wojcik vs face Santeri Lilius
• Jozef Chen vs Franco Diaz
• Marlon Tajik vs Faris Ben-Lamkaden
• Gustavo Batista vs Nathan Haddad

Banta defeated Gaudio 5-0 in regulation. He'll move on to face Luke Griffith in the quarterfinal.

Stop what you're doing.

Achilles Rocha and Declan Moody have taken the mat, and just three minutes into the bout, it's vying for match of the year. Check out the match now, live on Mat 3.

Luke Griffith scored a quick submission in his first round match at -99kg, defeating Poland's Marcin Maciulewicz, less than two minutes in the match via rear naked choke.

Javier Zaruski also scored a rear naked choke finish in the final seconds of his match against Vinicius Lessa, where he was leading by three points.

British ADCC veteran and leg lock specialist Eoghan O'Flanagan took down Polish favorite Adam Wardzinski via heel hook in regulation in the first round of the -99kg division. O'Flanagan had been threatening with the false reap for the majority of the match before attacking with a simpler outside heel hook from.

Eoghan O'Flanagan def Adam Wardzinski via heel hook.

Daniel Schuart caught Michael Pixley in a scramble, using the G-Roll to sweep the wrestler and transitioning immediately into an anlke lock to defeat the ADCC veteran.

Daniel Schuardt def Michael Pixley via ankle lock (5:11)

Here's what's coming up in the heaviest weight class later today:

• Felipe Pena vs Nick Hartman
• Josh Saunders vs Roosevelt Sousa
• Dan Manasoiu vs Mark Macqueen
• Victor Hugo vs Ruslan Abdulaev

The heavyweights delivered in the round of 16. Six of the eight first round matches ended in submission.

No.1 seed Kaynan Duarte submitted former teammate Nico Maglicic with a beautiful cloverleaf submission early in regulation to advance to the quarterfinal.

Kaynan Duarte def Nico Maglicic via cloverleaf (5:26)

Ruslan Abdulaev took his match vs Tito John Carle deep into regulation, but used his pressure late in the match to score a katagatame submission. He'll face Victor Hugo in the quarterfinal.

Ruslan Abdulaev def Tito John Carle via katagatame (8:46)

Mark Macqueen def Pouya Rahmani via points (15:00)

Here's what's coming up:

• Kaynan Duarte vs Nico Maglicic
• Javier Zaruski vs Vinicius Lessa
• Michael Pixley vs Daniel Schuardt
• Eoghan O'Flanagan vs Adam Wardzinski
• Luke Griffith vs Marcin Maciulewicz
• Steffen Banta vs Patrick Gaudio
• Roberto Cyborg vs Eli Braz
• Declan Moody vs Achilles Rocha

Victor Hugo pulled guard against the difficult to to takedown Heikki Jussila, and scored the heel hook submission from 50-50, using his head to wedge the toes into the lock.

He'll advance to face the winner of Ruslan Abdulaev vs Tito John Carle, currently on Mat 2.

Victor Hugo def Heikki Jussila via heel hook (5:27)

The submissions are flying in the +99kg division. Big Dan Manasoiu gets the katagatame submission over Pedro Lucas in just three minutes. He'll take on the winner of Mark Macqueen and Pouya Rahmani, currently on Mat 2.

Dan Mansoiu def Pedro Lucas via katagatame (3:05)

Roosevelt Sousa and Brandon Reed was a masterclass in strategic, aggressive offense in the ADCC ruleset. Roosevelt Sousa got the ankle lock submission in the waning moments of the opening round, and will move on to face Josh Saunders.

Roosevelt Sousa def Brandon Reed via ankle lock (8:27)

Nick Hartman submitted Haisam Rida with a mounted guillotine in overtime with just 47 seconds remaining on the clock. He'll move on to face Felipe Pena in the quarterfinals. Pena also had a submission in his first match,

Josh Saunders won his opener 5-0 over Francis Pana and will face the winner of Brandon Reed and Roosevelt Sousa. That match is currently on Mat 1.

Nick Hartman def Haisam Rida via guillotine (14:13)

Josh Saunders def Francis Pana via points (15:00)

Pena weathered the storm of leg attempts from first round opponent Belal Etiabari before points were active. Once points were live, Pena passed the guard for three points, took the back for four more, then locked in the rear naked choke for the first submission of the day. He's awaiting the result of the match between Nick Hartman and Haisam Rida, currently on Mat 2.

Felipe Pena def Belal Etiabari via rear naked choke (6:53)

The first three matches are underway at +99kg, and two of them began with guard pulls. Nick Hartman pulled guard on Hiasam Rida, and Belal Etiabari pulled on Felipe Pena.

Both Hartman and Etiabari have tried for false reaps from the bottom position.

Francis Pana and Josh Saunders are currently engaged in standing hand fighting.

Points are active in all three matches.

ADCC 2026 in Poland begins with the +99kg, taking the mats momentarily. We begin with:

• Felipe Pena vs Belal Etiabari
• Haisam Rida vs Nick Hartman
• Josh Sounders vs Francis Pana
• Roosevelt Sousa vs Brandon Reed
• Dan Manasoiu vs Pedro Lucas
• Pouya Rahmani vs Mark Macqueen
• Victor Hugo vs Heikki Jussila
• Ruslan Abdulaev vs Tito John Carle

With all the buzz around Gabrieli Pessanha's ADCC debut, lets take a quick look at the other competitors this year that are decorated in IBJJF black belt gi competition.

• Gabi Pessanha (12x World Champion)
• Mayssa Bastos (7x World Champion)
• Ana Carolina Vieira (5x World Champion)
• Victor Hugo (4x World Champion)
• Diego Pato (4x World Champion)
• Gustavo Batista (3x World Champion)
• Kaynan Duarte (2x World Champion)
• Felipe Pena (2x World Champion)
• Adam Wardzinski (2x World Champion)
• Ana Rodrigues (2x World Champion)
• Fabricio Andrey (1x World Champion)

The crowd for ADCC in Krakow, Poland gave some huge support for their hometown heroes. From where I'm sitting, the biggest pops in the crowd came for:

• -77kg: Mateusz Szczecinski
• -99kg: Adam Wardzinski
• -88kg: Pavel Jaworski

Overall:

• Brazil (27)
• USA (25)
• Poland (10)
• Australia (9)
• United Kingdom (4)
• Russia (3)
• Canada (3)
• Japan (2)
• New Zealand (2)
• Finland (2)
• South Africa (2)
• Spain (2)
• Türkiye (1)
• Kazakstan (1)
• Barbados (1)
• Morocco (1)
• Sweden (1)
• Peru (1)
• Germany (1)
• Uruguay (1)
• Scotland (1)
• Iran (1)
• Ghana (1)

-55kg:

• USA (3)
• Brazil (2)
• Japan (1)
• Spain (1)
• Germany (1)

-65kg:

• Brazil (3)
• USA (2)
• United Kingdom (1)
• Norway (1)
• Australia (1)

+65kg:

• USA (3)
• Brazil (2)
• Spain (1)
• Barbados (1)
• Australia (1)

-66kg:

• Brazil (5)
• USA (4)
• Poland (3)
• Japan (1)
• United Kingdom (1)
• Kazakstan (1)
• Türkiye (1)

-77kg:

• USA (4)
• Brazil (3)
• Poland (2)
• Canada (2)
• Russia (2)
• United Kingdom (1)
• Norway (1)
• New Zealand (1)

-88kg:

• USA (3)
• Brazil (3)
• Poland (3)
• Australia (2)
• Morocco (1)
• South Africa (1)
• Finland (1)
• Sweden (1)
• Peru (1)

-99kg:

• Brazil (5)
• USA (3)
• Australia (3)
• Poland (2)
• United Kingdom (1)
• South Africa (1)
• Uruguay (1)

+99kg:

• Brazil (4)
• USA (3)
• Canada (1)
• Australia (2)
• Russia (1)
• Ghana (1)
• Finland (1)
• Scotland (1)
• Iran (1)
• New Zealand (1)

The first matches for ADCC 2026 in Krakow, Poland begin in one hour. But the lights and cameras are already rolling for the opening ceremonies. Watch live now on FloGrappling at the link above.