Kennedy Maciel won the ADCC -66kg world title in Kraków on September 13, submitting Gavin Corbe with a triangle armbar in overtime. The victory made him and his father, Rubens “Cobrinha” Maciel, the first father-son duo to both claim ADCC World Championship gold.
A marathon final settled by one locked submission
The bout inside Tauron Arena became the longest final of the weekend. After regulation ended without a winner, Maciel secured the triangle armbar at 28:41 of overtime. Corbe had reached the final as a late replacement with only 11 days of notice, but Maciel’s control under pressure closed the match.
Corbe had already earned his own landmark as the first Filipino ADCC medalist. His run to the final included a heel hook win over Ryoma Anraku and an overtime decision against Nikodem Mikuliszyn. Yet in the closing moments, Maciel found the finish that separated the two careers.
Seed 13 cuts through a stacked bracket
Maciel entered as the No. 13 seed in a division widely called the most loaded at ADCC 2026. He beat Kamil Wilk 10-0 on points, then took referee decisions over Fabricio Andrey and tournament favourite Diego “Pato” Oliveira. It was his first final appearance since 2019.
The path echoed his debut. In 2019, Maciel stepped in as a late replacement for his father and left with silver. Now he returns to the top step, matching the legacy of Cobrinha, a three-time ADCC champion and five-time medalist.
A family name enters the record books alone
The bracket lacked two-time defending champion Diogo Reis, yet Maciel’s run required no asterisk. He beat four opponents across two days, finishing with the longest final of the event. The title adds a first to a sport already rich with family lineages.
From a substitute’s silver in 2019 to gold in Poland seven years later, Maciel completed the cycle. The family name now stands alone in the ADCC records.
