ADCC 2011 This Weekend, No Gi Pans Next!!

This weekend in the United Kingdom the high royalty of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Grappling will hold court at the mecca of No Gi competition, ADCC 2011. All the participants, 16 competitors each in five different weight categories, have either won regional trials to qualify or have been invited for past performances, name recognition, or both. There will also be 16 women competing; eight each in two weight divisions. The Gracie Princess, Kyra Gracie, has a great chance to make it to the Under 60 kg final, most likely against Michele Nicolini or Luanna Alzuguir, the reigning ADCC U60 champion. The women's 60+ final may come down to the Alliance heavy hitter Gabi Garcia and 2009 champion Hannette Staack from Team Brazil 021.

The super fights this year will be Jacare Souza versus Gracie Barra's Braulio Estima and the Masters version: our very own Master Renzo Gracie versus Mario Ze Sperry from the famed bjj documentary, "Day of the Zen".

No question, definitely rooting for Master Renzo to pull out the win this weekend and while Jacare will be itching to get rid of the sour taste from his recent MMA loss, I believe Braulio has put in the work, training with Roger Gracie and Georges St.Pierre, and formulated the recipe to serve Jacare yet another loss.

The brackets  for the five weight divisions were posted today and can be viewed here. (Click on each bracket to see expanded version.)

By the way, Renzo Gracie Family is being represented by phenom Gunnar Nelson (-89.5 kg) who opened many eyes at the 2009 ADCC Absolutes and Gerardi Rinaldi (+99 kg) of Silver Fox BJJ.

Now, I watch my fair share of competition matches, Pans, Worlds, Abu Dhabi Pro, but I still have no idea what direction to go in with regards to making predictions so I'll just list my favorites in each category.

Under 65.9(145 lbs): Rafael Mendes, Cobrinha Charles, Robson Moura

U 76.9(169.2 lbs): Marcelo Garcia, Vagner Rocha, Murilo Santana

U 87.9(193.4 lbs): Andre Galvao, Romulo Barral, Gunnar Nelson

U 98.9(217.6 lbs): Rudolfo Viera, Xande Ribieiro, Antonio Peinado

+99(217.8 lbs): Cyborg Abreu, Vinny Magalhaes, Jose Junior

Absolutes: ??? Rudolfo Viera vs. Xande Ribieiro???

The live stream for this event is available only via PPV at Budo Videos. Updates and news of the event can be found at Gracie Mag ADCC Blog.

If you're interested in the results of past ADCC competions, you can check them out here.

I'm certain all the action this weekend will have you pumped up to want to get on the mats asap and maybe even get your competitive juices flowing. Well you can put your no gi skills to the test at the No-Gi Pans next Saturday at City College but you have to act fast because the deadline to register ends this Saturday 7/24/11. Fee to register is $117 which is pricey but this competition is considered to be a prestigious event to medal at. Here's the link to register: No Gi Pans

***The form requires that you select your academy from a drop down list. Prof. Codella has been trying to get our school added to the list but given the short amount of time you can select Renzo Gracie Academy.

Also, you have to have approved ranked rashguard and black shorts to compete. Click here for details: No Gi Uniform Requirements