ADCC 2017 Preview: Women’s Divisions - Mackenzie Dern, Gabi Garcia looking to impress

The 2017 ADCC tournament is a few hours away from kicking off in Finland. All of the divisions boast some of the best athletes in the sport today. Sixteen women step onto the mats in two divisions and they have the potential to put on some of the biggest matches of the weekend.

Mackenzie Dern returns to defend her -60 kilograms title and has a tough slate of opponents to do so. She’s made her transition to mixed martial arts and has a 3-0 record there, but she’s found herself struggling with recent defeats in the grappling world. Michelle Nicolini and Beatriz Mesquita are two women that have defeated Dern in the past and faced her in tough bouts. The same could be said about Talita Alencar who is coming off of a very strong performance at EBI 11 earlier this season.

Dern may be the favorite to win this division and defend her title, but she has a very tough group of women to get through if she’s going to do so.

2015 champion Ana Laura Cordeiro is out of the tournament due to family commitments which means the +60 kilograms division will have a new champion come Sunday.

Two-time champion, Gabi Garcia, has become the biggest favorite to win another title this year. She slipped to third place during the 2015 tournament but she is not the only medalist to return to action in 2017.

Jessica Flowers (formerly Oliveira) defeated Garcia in the semi-final in a result that many found to be one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. She had a lot of success as a brown belt before being awarded her black belt. While her second place finish in 2015 was a surprise to some, she will not catch anyone off guard heading into this year’s tournament.

Talita “Treta” Nogueira is another name that comes into the tournament with expectations to impress as she’s steadily improved each time she steps on the mat. None would be surprised if she finds her way onto the medal stand this year.

ADCC 2017 is set for Saturday and Sunday. Fans can view the event via livestream through FloGrappling.com.