ADCC By The Numbers: Submission Rates, Trends & More
ADCC By The Numbers: Submission Rates, Trends & More
We've categorized every sub from all divisions, divvied up those numbers by athlete and submission type, and extrapolated the trends.
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The most anticipated event of 2019 has come and gone, and contained in ADCC's two momentous days of grappling was an avalanche of spectacular submissions out of Anaheim, CA.
We've crunched the numbers, categorizing every sub from all divisions; we then divvied up those numbers by athlete and submission type and extrapolated global and athlete-specific trends.
Make the jump to dig in.
Quick Stats
- Total Submissions: 35
- Division With Most Subs: Absolute (12)
- Most Common Submission: RNC (13)
- Athlete With Most Submissions: Gordon Ryan (6)
Global Trends Across All Divisions
Keeping in trend with past ADCC data dumps, the rear-naked choke reigned supreme at 2019 ADCC World Championships.
Thirteen out of the tournament's 35 submissions came via the "Mata Leão," with numerous competitors making use of wresting scrambles to jump on their opponent's back and secure the finish. It's also no surprise that the RNC was king given the positional requirements of no-gi grappling — maintaining side control and mount is difficult and inefficient, while getting to the back provides the ultimate control.
The fearsome heel hook was also in play, coming in second place to the RNC with nine finishes. But there was a surprising twist: six of the nine heel hook finishes occurred in the absolute division. We can only speculate as to why the heel hook's efficiency skyrocketed in the open weight bracket, but one has to think that the lack of familiarity that opponents had with one another could be a factor.
The Specialists
Lachlan Giles: The Heel Hook
"The People's Champ" Lachlan Giles jumps to the top of the list here with one of the most epic stories from the event: The 77kg competitor submitted three MASSIVE +99kg opponents with the heel hook.
Perhaps the best feel-good story to come out of the tournament, Lachlan forever became a legend with his brutal efficiency and amazing finishes.
Gordon Ryan: King Of The Back Attack
The days of Gordon Ryan getting called a leglock guy are long behind us — and have been for some time — but the 2019 double gold winner reiterated that fact by finishing five of his six submissions by RNC.
Gordon's back takes were extremely creative throughout the tournament; he systematically destroyed the turtle of his opponents and was quick to counter off a sprawl. The truck even made an appearance in the -99kg semifinal against Lucas "Hulk" Barbosa.
It should be also noted that Gordon also made extensive use of the one-armed variation of the RNC, finishing both Vinicius "Trator" Ferreira and Garry Tonon with the technique.
Tim Spriggs: Guillotine Machine
Spriggs didn't get as far in the tournament as he would have liked, but the TLI competitor can hold his head up high for snagging two of the most savage submissions from the weekend.
All-Rounders
Craig Jones
If you haven't seen Craig's matches from the weekend, you might have been surprised to see his name fall under the all-rounders header, but the Australian grappler hit three different subs from drastically different positions: a heel hook, an RNC, and an arm-in guillotine.
Craig's game has clearly evolved significantly since his last appearance at ADCC, and he appears to be rapidly adding new weapons to his arsenal.
Bianca Basilio
Bianca Basilio submitted two out of three of her opponents (women have one less round than the men's divisions) and utilized a variety of attacks on her quest for -60kg gold.
Given Basilio's pedigree as being predominantly a gi athlete, we were impressed with her comfort executing the modern leglock attacks and cycling through various leg entanglements like a season no-gi pro.
Her savage toehold submission over Ffion Davies in the final was among the most brutal of the entire event.
The Raw Data Sorted By Athlete
Winner | Loser | Division | Round | Submission |
Aaron Johnson | Jon Blank | Absolute | 1 | Straight Ankle lock |
Ana Carolina Vieira | Amanda Leve | o60kg | 1 | RNC |
Augusto Mendes | Keith Krikorian | 66kg | 1 | Arm Triangle |
Bia Mesquita | Jena Bishop | -60kg | 1 | Arm Triangle |
Bianca Basilio | Livia Giles | -60kg | 1 | RNC |
Bianca Basilio | Ffion Davies | -60kg | Final | Toehold |
Craig Jones | Ben Dyson | 88kg | 1 | Heel Hook |
Craig Jones | Mason Fowler | 88kg | 2 | Guillotine |
Craig Jones | Jon Blank | 88kg | 3 | RNC |
Ffion Davies | Beatriz Mesquita | -60kg | 2 | Armbar |
Gabi Garcia | Carina Santi | o60kg | Final | Kimura |
Garry Tonon | Mateusz Gamrot | 77kg | 1 | RNC |
Garry Tonon | Dante Leon | 77kg | Bronze | Heel Hook |
Garry Tonon | Edwin Najmi | Absolute | 1 | Heel Hook |
Gordon Ryan | Ben Hodgkinson | -99kg | 1 | RNC |
Gordon Ryan | Tim Spriggs | -99kg | 2 | RNC |
Gordon Ryan | Vinicius Ferreira | -99kg | Final | RNC |
Gordon Ryan | Pedro Marinho | Absolute | 1 | Heel Hook |
Gordon Ryan | Garry Tonon | Absolute | 2 | RNC |
Gordon Ryan | Lachlan Giles | Absolute | 3 | RNC |
Jon Blank | Rustam Chsiev | 88kg | 1 | Heel Hook |
Josh Hinger | Gabriel Almeida | 88kg | 1 | RNC |
Josh Hinger | Adam Wardzinski | 88kg | 2 | Guillotine |
Kaynan Duarte | Eldar Rafigaev | o99kg | 1 | RNC |
Kennedy Maciel | Ruan Alvarenga | 66kg | 1 | Triangle |
Kennedy Maciel | Tye Ruotolo | 66kg | 3 | RNC |
Lachlan Giles | Kaynan Duarte | Absolute | 1 | Heel Hook |
Lachlan Giles | Patrick Gaudio | Absolute | 2 | Heel Hook |
Lachlan Giles | Mahamed Aly | Absolute | Bronze | Heel Hook |
Mahamed Aly | John Hansen | Absolute | 1 | Heel Hook |
Marcus Almeida | Keith Krikorian | Absolute | 1 | Armbar |
Marcus Almeida | Mahamed Aly | Absolute | 3 | RNC |
Tim Spriggs | Fellipe Andrew | -99kg | 1 | Guillotine |
Tim Spriggs | Jared Dopp | Absolute | 1 | Guillotine |
Yuri Simoes | Eliot Marshall | o99kg | 1 | Armbar |
Sights & Sounds from ADCC 2019