Rafael Mendes Becomes ADCC Champ at 20

At just 20 years old, and with less than a year with his black belt, Rafael Mendes has won the biggest no-gi grappling competition in the world.

Mendes avenged his loss at the Mundials earlier this year by taking a 7-4 points win over Rubens "Cobrinha" charles after the second overtime in a 30-minute affair. The bout started at a high pace, with Cobrinha scoring early takedowns before points were in effect, while Mendes locked on two deep anaconda chokes, both of which Charles able to deftly escape.

As the points period started, Charles was looking to pass guard from top, but couldn't cut through Mendes' long-legged, hyperactive defense. The two spent the last half of the opening 20-minute period rolling in leglock position, as Mendes tested the flexibility of Cobrinha's knees.

As the bout wore on, both men looked for opportune moments to score takedowns to break the 4-4 deadlock, but neither could until after 28 minutes of grappling, a Mendes leg attack from the bottom forced a scramble in which he quickly jumped on Cobrinha's back and sunk both hooks, earning himself three points, and the divisional title.

In the third place bout, Ryan Hall defeated Jeff Glover 3-2 on points after taking his back in the final seconds of the bout. Hall and Glover contested the bout as semi-finalists Rani Yahya and Leo Vieira bowed out due to injury following their contests with Charles and Mendes respectively.