ADCC Open Female Standouts

A version of this article appeared on Flograppling on Sept. 27, 2022.

This year’s ADCC was a show never to be forgotten. All eyes were on Ffion Davies redeeming the under 60kg title after placing second in the 2019 edition of ADCC, and Amy Campo, who delivered a clinical performance against Elisabeth Clay, Gabi Garcia, and Rafaela Guedes to be crowned queen of the over 60kg division.

Two days before ADCC Worlds, organizers hosted an open tournament for fans and competitors around the world to test themselves in the ADCC ruleset. Matches followed the same rules and time limits of the trials. The women’s pro divisions featured past trials participants and podium finishers, as well as some new talent. 

Standout performances

Rosa Walsh - 65kg champion

Walsh won three consecutive matches with the exact same submission, armbar from side control and north south. Most impressively, she did this to black belt nogi world champion Nathalie Ribeiro in less than a minute after a lightning fast takedown and pass. Walsh is an Irish brown belt training with Ffion Davies.

Alex Enriquez - 60kg champion

Enriquez submitted three out of four opponents to win the largest women’s bracket of the ADCC Open. She used headlocks and snapdowns to force her opponents to the ground where she took their backs and submitted them. She spent the majority of her finals match in mount, which she earned from sweep forced via guillotine. This was also a positionally dominating match even without a submission. Although Enriquez has been a black belt for less than a year, her competition success this year shows she’s ready to be among the best.

Morgan Black - Open weight champion

Black landed five submissions out of seven wins this weekend, winning the open weight bracket and coming in second place in the 60kg bracket. She showed good wrestling and counter wrestling, launching attacks of her own like arm drags to the back, while capitalizing on her opponents’ mistakes from standing. On the ground, she passed using half guard and knee cuts, forcing her opponents to turtle. Each time, she chased the back with precision, leading to several armbar and rear naked choke finishes. Black is currently a brown belt training out of Colorado Springs.

Amanda Leve - 70kg+ champion

Leve is perhaps most recently known for her WNO match with legendary Gabi Garcia, in which she took Garcia’s back twice and won a clear decision victory. Leve repeated her performance of stunning back takes in last weekend’s Open, submitting three out of four opponents from there. On her feet, she scored three clinical double leg takedowns, each which set the tone of the remainder of the match. Leve is a professional MMA fighter and BJJ black belt training out of Philadelphia.

Bridget McEliece - 70kg champion

McEliece won the 70kg division with a 100% submission rate. Out of all the Open champions discussed above, she played the most positions, working extensively from both passing and guard, threatening from both. Most of her submissions came from ultimately coming on top and taking the back. McEliece is a black belt training out of Brooklyn, NY.

Notable mention

Helena Crevar

Crevar is a 15 year old blue belt who has been beating adult athletes for a long time. Last weekend she placed third in the 65kg female adult pro division, notably losing by only a negative point to black belt nogi world champion Nathalie Ribeiro. At no point did Crevar seem to be in danger of being scored on while she relentlessly attacked from guard. Crevar won her third place match by dead orchard in less than 30 seconds.

What we can learn from the Open champions

Perhaps a product of the ADCC ruleset and the level of athletes, we are no longer seeing matches of 30 second heel hook or triangle finishes. The vast majority of successful athletes controlled their opponents’ posture from standing and were very good at chasing the turtle and finishing from the back. It seems like the level of passing overall is higher than the level of guard, as we didn’t see many impassable guards or even threatening guards.

There is no doubt that high level, female submission hunters are looking for new challenges. With all the talk of potentially expanding the ADCC World’s women’s weight divisions and number of athletes per bracket, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the stars of last weekend’s Open.