ADCC 2017, Day 1 results: Mackenzie Dern loses first match

Current ADCC gold medalist Mackenzie Dern came up short in her attempt to repeat history.

Winner of the 2015 edition in Sao Paulo in the -60kg division (132.2 pounds), Dern entered the mat for the first time this morning in Finland against local talent Elvira Karppinen.

Both grapplers scored points with sweeps, but Karppinen was up on the scorecards (4-2). Dern attacked with an omoplata-rear-naked choke, the same finish she tapped Montana Stewart at Legacy FC 61, but Karppinen escaped. Dern also attempted a toehold in the end, but couldn’t get the finish.

Karppinen advanced to the semifinals, where she meets Bianca Basilio. In the other semifinal, ONE Championship talent and ADCC 2013 gold medalist Michelle Nicolini meets Bia Mesquita.

The semifinals and medal matches take place Sunday at the The Espoo Metro Areena in Espoo, Finland.

In the +60kg division, two-time ADCC gold medalist Gabi Garcia advanced with a quick submission over Amanda Santana with a foot lock in just 57 seconds. In the semifinals, the RIZIN star will take on Jessica Oliveira, who defeated her at ADCC 2015.

Bellator talent Talita Nogueira also advanced to the semifinal after defeating local talent Venla Luukkonen by points. She takes on Samantha Cook next, who defeated Tara White by points in the quarterfinals.

The male divisions also featured several MMA talents competing in Finland.

In the +99kg division (over 218.2 pounds), the semifinals are set with ADCC 2015 gold medalist Orlando Sanchez vs. Jared Dopp and Marcus Buchecha vs. Roberto Abreu.

Dopp defeated Vinny Magalhaes by points (3-0) in the quarterfinals, while Sanchez got pastTom DeBlass.

Bellator fighter and BJJ world champion Rafael Lovato Jr. advanced to the semifinal in the -99kg division (under 218.2 pounds), where he meets Felipe Pena. Lovato eliminated rising talent Mahamed Aly (by points, 3-0) in the quarterfinals. The other semifinal features Yuri Simoes vs. Jackson Souza.

Longtime MMA veteran Jake Shields competed in the -99kg division, but lost on points (5-0) to Abdurakhman Bilarov in his first match.

Two surprising results kicked off the action at the -88kg division (under 194 pounds), with Pablo Popovitch and Leandro Lo losing by submission to Kaynan Duarte and Craig Jones, respectively. Duarte lost his next match to Keenan Cornelius, while Jones went on to tap Murilo Santana and advance to the semifinal.

The second semifinal features Alexandre Ribeiro vs. Gordon Ryan, who defeated Romulo Barral (submission) and Dillon Danis (decision) in his previous matches.

UFC veteran Vagner Rocha is in the -77kg semifinal (under 170 pounds), where he meets Lucas Lepri. In the other side of the bracket, JT Torres defeated BJJ world champion Celso Venicius to advance to the semifinal against Gary Tonon.

In the lightest male division (-66kg, 145.5 pounds), Rubens Charles “Cobrinha” and Paulo Miyao earned their spot in semifinal without trouble.

In the opposite bracket, UFC bantamweight Augusto Mendes won his first match, but lost to Pablo Mantovani by decision in the quarterfinals. Mantovani now takes on AJ Agazarm in the semifinal.

The ADCC 2017 superfight featured current openweight gold medalist Claudio Calasans and superfight champion Andre Galvao. Galvao, a former Strikeforce and DREAM welterweight, defended his title winning by points (14-0).