Victor Hugo just ran the table at heavyweight — then walked away.
On Sunday at the 2026 ADCC World Championships in Kraków, Poland, the Brazilian submitted Josh Saunders in the +99kg final to complete a perfect four-submission run and claim the first ADCC gold of his career. FloGrappling recorded the finish at 8:49 after Hugo, down two early penalties, trapped an arm, moved to a rear-mount triangle, and locked an armbar. After the win he announced his retirement from championship competition.
Hugo’s path never went the distance. He opened with a heel hook over Heikki Jussila, added a rear-naked choke against Ruslan Abdulaev in the quarters, then finished Mark Macqueen with a leg lock in the semis before Saunders in the final. All four wins were submissions. The gold is also his first ADCC medal of any kind.
Sunday crowned eight weight-class champions in all. Luke Griffith shocked the -99kg division by submitting Kaynan Duarte in the final. Poland’s Pawel Jaworski — already the story of Day 1 after upsetting Felipe Costa — took -88kg over Marlon Tajik on points after a scoreless match. Magomed Dzharbaev won -77kg by referee decision over PJ Barch, and Kennedy Maciel outlasted Gavin Corbe by submission in a long -66kg final.
On the women’s side, Helena Crevar took +65kg with a submission of Anabel Lopez, Ana Carolina Vieira defended her -65kg crown by submitting Sarah Galvao in double overtime to become the first repeat women’s champion since Gabi Garcia in 2017 and 2019, and Jasmine Rocha won -55kg by submission over Ana Rodrigues.
In the Super Fight, Yuri Simoes beat Kaynan Duarte by submission at 22:26. Absolute closed with Felipe Pena submitting Roosevelt Sousa — Flo notes Pena as the first athlete to win the Absolute bracket twice — and Ruslan Abdulaev took bronze.
ADCC 2026 champions (Kraków — Sep 13, 2026)
- +99kg: Victor Hugo
- -99kg: Luke Griffith
- -88kg: Pawel Jaworski
- -77kg: Magomed Dzharbaev
- -66kg: Kennedy Maciel
- Women’s +65kg: Helena Crevar
- Women’s -65kg: Ana Carolina Vieira
- Women’s -55kg: Jasmine Rocha
- Super Fight: Yuri Simoes def. Kaynan Duarte
- Absolute: Felipe Pena
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