Leo Viera, André Galvão, Julio Cesar Pereira, Mackenzie Dern and Braulio Estima during the press conference. Photo by ADXC
A huge announcement struck the fight community around the globe this Wednesday, May 21st, with news coming directly from the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi. The birth of a new grappling event putting together modernity, expertise, and a fresh combination of the ruleset and fight format. The Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship (ADXC) rose as the event was ready to change the world of submission tournaments.
The news came in a press conference, held in the sumptuous Anantara Eastern Mangroves hotel for his distinguished guests and streamed worldwide for all the fans and media. Well-known names from the Jiu-Jitsu community as André Galvão, alongside his wife Angelica Galvão; Braulio Estima, Leo Vieira, Mackenzie Dern, and master Julio Cesar Pereira were some of the guests-speakers and advisors for the first steps of ADXC, invited by the organization captained by H.E. Abdulmunan Al Hashemi, Chairman of UAEJJ Federation and International Vision Investments (IVI), alongside Mr. Tariq Al Bahri, General Manager of International Vision Sport Management (IVSM), and Mr. Rodrigo Valerio, Operation Director at Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro (AJP).
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The infos broke in the press conference and brought some details about the ADXC. Held in a cage, the fights will happen in three rounds of three minutes, with its first event being aimed at October 2023. The participants will come from a technological ranking inside the federation to acquire the best players on the stage. Rodrigo Valerio spoke about the ranking system.
“The ADXC will attract a diverse group of athletes to showcase their skills inside the octagon”, Rodrigo said. “We have adopted qualifiers and comprehensive weight categories, carefully choosing dates to ensure the participation of the most distinguished stars.”
About the format of the fight, André Galvão spoke more about the three rounds style, without points on the scoreboard, and the strategy that comes with the rounds.
“Each round will come as 10-9 or 10-8 on points, just like MMA, and a draw can happen. But the rounds with a minute of rest are enough to change things, like reflect on the strategy with the fight ongoing, and understand if you’re winning or losing the fight. We’re discussing if we’re going to have an extra round if it goes to a draw, avoiding the referee’s decision. The fight will keep going, without stoppages of mat scapes, as the fights happen in the cage, so the aim is to make the fights entertaining and exciting.”
Leo Vieira, Julio Cesar Pereira, Mackenzie Dern, Angelica Galvão, André Galvão and Braulio Estima attended the ADXC press conference. Photo by ADXC
Mr. Tariq Al Bahri spoke about how ADXC is bringing inspiration to the youth generations of UAE, as the country has Jiu-Jitsu as one of their main sports and the philosophy of Jiu-Jitsu keeps the next generations motivated to get the best of themselves.
“We are ushering in a new era of combat sports in Abu Dhabi. The ADXC serves as a comprehensive platform for Jiu-Jitsu and grappling, surpassing the boundaries of combat sports. Undoubtedly, the championship enhances Abu Dhabi’s status as a global destination for professional combat sports, which provides a great avenue for integrating the youth of Abu Dhabi. Through platforms such as these, we not only inspire the youth but build a bright future for this sport.”
