In a partnership with the AJP, the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship (ADXC) is almost here, bringing the strategy and intricacies of Jiu-Jitsu to an MMA cage with a ruleset that favors aggressive play. The debut event, which is scheduled to take place on October 20th at the Mubadala Arena, in Abu Dhabi, will feature two main events and two co-main events, all pitting renowned Jiu-Jitsu and MMA athletes against each other in five rounds of three minutes.

In the No-Gi main event, two prominent grapplers of the mixed martial arts scene will clash against one another. On one side, the Bellator fighter Neiman Gracie bears the responsibility of honoring not only the most emblematic surname in Jiu-Jitsu’s history but also the training received by his uncle and legend Renzo Gracie. On the other side, the former UFC and WEC champion Ben Henderson is ready to use his wrestling and all the other tools he gained throughout his career to emerge as the winner in the ADXC cage, so his opponent better watch out for that merciless guillotine.

Moving on to the Gi main event, a rivalry from the mats gets another episode. With two World Pro titles in his resumé, DreamArt leader Isaque Bahiense will put his skills to the test against Atos’ Gustavo Batista, who conquered the King of Mats 2019. Their record within the AJP puts Isaque at an advantage, with him winning against Gustavo in both the ADGS Rio 2017 and the ADWPJJC 2018. Meanwhile, Gustavo has seized the victory against Isaque in the aforementioned King of Mats, being the champion after defeating his long-time foe in the finals.

Middleweights Belal Muhammad and Tarek Suleiman will put their no-gi prowess to good use in the co-main event. An American MMA fighter with a Palestine background, Belal Muhammad is a UFC fighter who’s defeated some of the greatest Jiu-Jitsu users in MMA, such as Demian Maia and Gilbert Burns. However, that doesn’t scare the Syrian mixed martial artist Tarek Suleiman, a UAE Warriors powerhouse who boasts 12 wins at the event, six of those being by submission, and who’ll be ready to use his dangerous neck attacks to overcome Belal.

Roberto Cyborg and Anton Minenko will lead another co-main event. Fighting without the gi, the Fight Sports leader Roberto Cyborg will bring his powerful takedowns and sweeps to the ADXC cage with two clear goals in mind: defeat his opponent and put on a great show while doing it. It’s up to the Australian black belt Anton Minenko to use his game, which has landed
him several titles within the AJP, to pull the brakes on the Brazilian’s ambitions and earn what could be one of his greatest achievements.

Zayed, Tayane, Luiza, Fellipe and more stars complete the card

For the preliminary bouts, the action doesn’t die down. In a no-gi match, the “Pride of Palestine” Abdul-Kareem Al-Sewady brings the extensive arsenal that earned him 15 victories in MMA to fight Islam Reda, the “Egyptian Zombie” that has recently made waves in the UAE Warriors with two memorable wins via submission. Meanwhile, seasoned heavyweight and ADWPJJC champion Tayane Porfírio will put on her gi and head to the Mubadala Arena to seize yet another victory for her resumé, but she’ll have to face Giovana Jara, a new but well-known black belt that recently took the ADGS Miami by storm, submitting all the opponents in her weight division.

Two very well-matched gi duels promise to turn up the heat at the ADXC. In the welterweight division, Fabricio Hokage; Andrey comes to represent Alliance with his amazing Jiu-Jitsu. His opponent will be the experienced Marcio Andre, from Nova União, who has countless titles and memorable duels in his career.

In the lightweight division, prominent UAE athlete Zayed Alkhateeri will face one of the main names in his division, the versatile Thalison Soares, in a fight that Jiu-Jitsu fans are eager to watch.

In another no-gi fight, Polish Marcin Held, an athlete with stints in the UFC, Bellator, and PFL, brings his dangerous game of leg locks to face UFC athlete Guram Kutateladze, a Swede known as the Georgian Viking. Still without the cloth, Jonnatas Gracie arrives on the card to represent Atos against the dangerous Natan Chueng, an athlete from the growing Fratres team. Back in the gi, AJP champions Fellipe Andrew and Uanderson Ferreira promise to shake up the ADXC cage with a duel in the middleweight division.

To top it off, two women’s gi duels are scheduled to start the card off on the right foot. In the middleweight division, the champion Luiza Monteiro comes to represent Atos against fellow black belt Nathalie Ribeiro, from CheckMat. Before that, representing the new generation of Jiu-Jitsu, we’ll have a fight between Sarah Galvão, the daughter of Jiu-Jitsu champions André and Angelica Galvão, and the fierce Vitória Gabriella, from Castro Team. Last but not least, heavyweights collide in a no-gi duel, with Dan Manasoui representing the famous New Wave Jiu-Jitsu, against GFTeam black belt Antonio Assef.

The debut edition of the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship will feature 14 matches in a tournament of unprecedented scale within the sport. The ADXC and its cage will completely take over the Mubadala Arena on October 20th, gifting the attending crowds a show they won’t soon forget. Keep your eyes peeled at @adxcofficial on Instagram to stay up-to-date on all the details and developments ahead of the big day. Get your tickets now, by clicking here, and don’t miss it!

ADXC 1
Mubadala Arena, Abu Dhabi – UAE
October 20, 2023
Main Card

Neiman Gracie vs. Ben Henderson – No-gi Main event

Isaque Bahiense vs. Gustavo Batista – Gi Main Event

Belal Muhammad vs. Tarek Suleiman – No-gi Co-main Event

Roberto Cyborg Abreu vs. Anton Minenko – No-gi Co-main Event
Super Fights

Tayane Porfirio vs. Giovanna Jara – Gi Super Fight

Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Islam Nader Reda – No-gi Super Fight

Fabricio Andrey vs. Marcio Andre – Gi Super Fight

Zayed Alkatheeri vs. Thalison Soares – Gi Super Fight

Marcin Held vs. Guram Kutateladze – No-gi Super Fight

Fellipe Andrew vs. Uanderson Ferreira – Gi Super Fight

Jonnatas Gracie vs. Natan Chueng – No-gi Super Fight

Nathalie Ribeiro vs. Luiza Monteiro – Gi Super Fight

Dan Manasoui vs. Antonio Assef – No-gi Super Fight

Sarah Galvão vs. Vitoria Gabriella – Gi Super Fight

The Gracie family will leave a significant imprint on World Series of Fighting’s next event as three different members will appear on the Sept. 14 card at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ.

In addition to a recently announced heavyweight contest between Rolles Gracie (8-1) and Derrick Mehmen (15-5), Gregor Gracie (7-3) will meet Rich Patishnock (5-1) in a welterweight bout, and Neiman Gracie (0-0) makes his professional MMA debut against Darren Costa (0-1) in a middleweight contest at “World Series of Fighting 5: Arlovski vs. Kyle.”

Rolles vs. Mehmen will take place on the evening’s two-and-a-half hour NBC Sports Network telecast, which airs live at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT.

Gregor vs. Patishnock and Neiman vs. Costa are both scheduled for the evening’s preliminary card, which streams on World Series of Fighting’s official website, WSOF.com, beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

Rolles Gracie is a third-degree black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, as well as judo. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Rolles currently resides in Holmdel, N.J., where he serves as a lead instructor at the famed Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Rolles has lost just once in nine career contests, and all eight of his wins have come by way of submission.

Mehmen, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, trains with one of the world’s best squads at American Top Team. A seven-year veteran of the sport, Mehmen currently boasts a three-fight win streak and has earned 10 of his 15 career wins by way of knockout.

Gregor is a two-time world champion Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who returns to the World Series of Fighting cage for a second time. The 26-year-old Brazilian suffered a disappointing TKO loss to upstart Tyson Steele at World Series of Fighting’s debut event last November and now looks for a return to the form that has seen him earn six of his seven career victories by submission.

Patishnock is a resident of Whippany, N.J., and member of the Garden State’s famed AMA Fight Club. Patishnock made his World Series of Fighting debut in March and earned a TKO win over another member of the Gracie clan, Igor Gracie, when doctors called a halt to the bout at the end of the first round. Fighting professionally for two years, Patishnock has tasted defeat just once in six contests.

Another member of Renzo Gracie’s fight team, 25-year-old Neiman Gracie, has thus far in his career focused exclusively on grappling conquests but now transitions to MMA for the first time. He meets Maryland’s Darren Costa, who made his professional debut in May but suffered a second-round TKO loss.