Sarah Galvao, Gianni Grippo among 8 BJJ champs to win ADCC 2026 invites at ADCC West Coast Trials

UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10: Rodriguez v Hugo. BJJ star Sarah Galvao

A good mix of young rising stars and veteran Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) champs shined at the 2026 ADCC West Coast Trials this past weekend.

Sarah Galvao could’ve likely gotten an ADCC 2026 invite directly, as she’s a big name and also the new top pound-for-pound grappler in the gi, but the second generation BJJ star still decided to compete for her slot instead. The 19-year-old prodigy dominated the field at the ADCC West Coast Trials, winning five matches with three submissions.

Galvao continued her string of dominance with a gold medal at the under 65 kg division, and officially earned her spot at the ADCC 2026 World Championships.

The 88 kg division also shared the spotlight at the ADCC West Coast Trials. In the deepest bracket of the event — which had the likes of PGF champ Ryan Aitken, ADCC trials winner Jacob Couch, UFC BJJ star Andy Varela and other top level grapplers — it was Nathan Haddad who came out on top to win gold.

Haddad, who was part of the UFC BJJ reality show, got a major title under his belt after impressively winning seven matches and landing three submissions in one weekend. He beat Aitken in the finals to win his first ADCC Trials title.

While Galvao and Haddad were among the six winners from the event that’ll be entering their first ever ADCC World Championships, there were a couple of veterans who also shined at the ADCC West Coast Trials. Elder Cruz won gold at -99 kg to qualify for his third ADCC Worlds, while Gianni Grippo won the stacked -66 kg division.