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ADCC Worlds is set to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 29–30th August, 2015. With the event less than four weeks away and with the release of most names by the ADCC Committee, this is a great time to handicap the divisions.
We begin with the U66KG division where the defending Champion Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles is returning to defend his title. Below is the latest list of competitors for that division
Male -66 kg
1. Rubens Charles "Cobrinha" – Brazil (ADCC 2013 Winner)
2. Asadulaev Surkhay – Russia (1st European Trials Winner)
3. Nicolas Renier – France (2nd European Trials Winner)
4. Tezekbaev Rasul – Kyrgyzstan (1st Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
5. Yuto Hirao – Japan (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials Winner)
6. Geovanny Martinez – USA (1st North American Trials Winner)
7. Edward Cummings – USA (2nd North American Trials Winner)
8. Renan Sancar Santos – Brazil (1st South American Trials Winner)
9. Gabriel Marangoni – Brazil (2nd South American Trials Winner)
10. João Miyao – Brazil (Invited)
11. Jeff Glover – USA (Invited)
12. Augusto Mendes – Brazil (Invited)
13. Justin Rader – USA (Invited)
14. Bruno Frazatto – Brazil (Invited)
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Analysis without order of favorites
With his experience, returning Champion I"Cobrinha" is the immediate favorite especially since his major rival and 2011 ADCC Champion Rafael Mendes is not competing, however there are many contenders ready to challenge him. In my opinion Augusto ""Tanquinho" is a solid contender, his great base and great strategy along with a super strong passing game makes Tanquinho one of my favorites to contend for the title. The ever enigmatic Jeff Glover, with his unorthodox game and huge talent, has tasted the podium before and, depending on the shape he shows up and the bracketing, is another contender. Next, and , I have Bruno Frazatto. Frazatto has an unreal guard and can and will challenge for the title. Another strong possibility is Joao Miyao, although Miyao has a great game and can give anyone a run for the money, his game, at least to this point, depends on sitting down, which in ADCC rules counts as (-1) so unless he adapts his opponents may use this against him. Also Miyao is lighter than most of his opponents and in ADCC history the winners are usually the ones at the very top of the weight division. Justin Rader rounds out my list of top contenders. Justin has a solid stand up and ground game has competed in many ADCC's and this is a tournament where experience really counts so I look for him to be at the semis and more.
