In 2009, when GRACIEMAG decided to put together a list ranking the athletes who have partaken in ADCC competition, the task of tallying up the points scored by the 78 competitors with the best performances at the World Cup of grappling arts since 1998 was so enormous, there wasn’t enough time or energy left to do the same for the female division.
Now, after the riveting 2011 installment that shook up Nottingham, England, a little over a week ago, time has come to pay our massive debt to the worthy female warriors who’ve been spilling their sweat on the ADCC mats ever since 2005 in Long Beach, California.
Sticking with the same scoring rules we used for the men’s division, we reached a forgone conclusion. The winningest female ADCC competitor is Hannette Staack, a two-time champ at weight and the winner of the absolute at the second installment, back in 2007 in New Jersey.
On the Carioca’s coattails: three-time weight-group winner Kyra Gracie, followed by Juliana Borges, Sayaka Shioda and Penny Thomas. Tara La Rosa shows up in sixth place, followed by the winner of the over-66kg division in 2009, Luanna Alzuguir, and then Kelly Paul.
Rounding out the top ten are Gabrielle Garcia in ninth and Rosângela Conceição. In all, 23 athletes managed to score points over the four ADCC events in which females have participated.
GRACIEMAG ADCC athlete ranking
1 – 65 – Hannette Staack
2 – 51 – Kyra Gracie
3 – 40 – Juliana Borges
4 – 28 – Sayaka Shioda
5 – 28 – Penny Thomas
6 – 26 – Tara LaRosa
7 – 22 – Luanna Alzuguir
8 – 18 – Kelly Paul
9 – 17 – Gabi Garcia
10 – 13 – Rosangela Conceição
11 – 11 – Stacy Cartwright
12 – 11 – Michelle Nicolini
13 – 11 – Leka Vieira
14 – 11 – Lana Stefanac
15 – 11 – Felicia Oh
16 – 10 – Megumi Fuji
17 – 09 – Amanda Buckner
18 – 05 – Cris Cyborg
19 – 05 – Kizman Button
20 – 05 – Takayo Hasi
21 – 05 – Marloes Coenen
22 – 05 – Hillary Williams
23 – 05 – Celita Schultz
The following criteria were applied:
1. Absolute champion – 20pts
2. Divisional champion – 17pts
3. Supermatch champion – 15pts
4. Absolute runner-up – 13pts
5. Divisional runner-up – 11pts
6. Supermatch runner-up – 9pts
7. Absolute third place – 7pts
8. Divisional third place – 5pts
9. Most technical athlete – 3pts
10. Best match participant – 2pts
In the event of a tied score, the athlete with the more valuable win takes the lead. For instance, even when drawn on points, an athlete who holds an absolute title wakes the lead over an athlete with only a divisional title.
