Luke Griffith submitted Kaynan Duarte with a rear-naked choke to win the -99kg title at the 2026 ADCC World Championship.
The final at Tauron Arena in Kraków on September 13 flipped late. Duarte, the 2024 double champion and top seed chasing a third straight gold at the weight, controlled most of the match. One mistake opened his back. Griffith took it, locked the choke, and finished at 14:47 for his first ADCC world title.
Two years earlier, Felipe Pena had stopped Griffith the same way in the 2024 gold-medal match. Griffith, the 2024 super-heavyweight runner-up, cut down a division for this run and answered with the same choke after countering a bad shot from Duarte — silver turned into gold on the second try.
He is the first South African to win ADCC gold since 2007 and the first South African man to medal since 2001.
ADCC 2026 — -99kg final (Tauron Arena, Kraków — Sep 13, 2026)
- Luke Griffith (South Africa) def. Kaynan Duarte by submission (rear-naked choke), 14:47
- Bronze: Daniel Schuardt
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