Abu Dhabi Combat Club

The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, is an international submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). The inaugural tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 1998. It has been held every two years since, except in 2021 due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Host countries have included Brazil, China, Finland, Spain, the UK, and the US.

Competitors can only participate after winning ADCC trials or by invitation. While most athletes come from the IBJJF Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitive scene, it is open to competitors from any grappling style. The 2022 edition took place in front of 13,000 fans in attendance at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

ADCC is considered the most prestigious submission grappling tournament in the world, and is commonly referred to as "the Olympics of grappling".

History

The competition was created by Sheik Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of the former United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, together with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor Nelson Monteiro. Royler Gracie characterized this as the beginning of "the modern era of submission grappling".
Thousands of submission grappling tournaments around the world use elements of the ADCC format and rule structure. To date, the great majority of ADCC champions have had experience studying the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, whose rules are the most similar to. However, there have been notable exceptions to this, such as Japanese Sanae Kikuta (Judo/Shoot Wrestling), South African Mark Robinson (Judo, Greco-Roman wrestling and Freestyle wrestling, Sumo), and American Mark Kerr (Collegiate/Freestyle Wrestling).

For the future of the event the organizer Mo Jassim has plans for adding more women's divisions and allowing reigning absolute champions to compete in weight-classes despite being booked for the main event superfight. It was announced in 2020 that for the first time in the competition's history, there would be more than two years between editions due to the setbacks suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 edition of the ADCC World Championships would then take place in 2022 instead.

At the end of 2021, ADCC was awarded with "Promotion of the year" by media outlet Jitsmagazine at the 2021 BJJ Awards as a result of the trials events held that year and the introduction of the ADCC Hall of Fame.

ADCC world championships

List of ADCC Champions in Men's Submission Fighting by Year and Weight

List of ADCC Champions in Women's Submission Fighting by Year and Weight

List of ADCC Superfight Champions

List of winners by total titles

Triple Crown Winners (weight, absolute and superfight)

* Mario Sperry
* Mark Kerr
* Ricardo Arona
* Roger Gracie
* Braulio Estima
* Dean Lister
* André Galvão
* Gordon Ryan

ADCC Hall of Fame

* Roger Gracie
* Andre Galvao
* Marcelo Garcia
* Ricardo Arona
* Kyra Gracie
* Braulio Estima
* Royler Gracie
* Dean Lister
* Mario Sperry
* Rubens Charles
* Saulo Ribeiro
* Mark Kerr
* Baret Yoshida
* Renzo Gracie
* Rafael Mendes

Most submissions

By nationality

ADCC events

ADCC 2022

ADCC 2019

Absolute

ADCC 2017

Absolute

ADCC 2015

Absolute

ADCC 2013

ADCC 2011

Absolute

Superfight

*Superfight 1: Braulio Estima vs. Ronaldo Souza
: Estima defeated Souza via points (3-0).
*Superfight 2: Renzo Gracie vs. Mario Sperry
: Sperry defeated Gracie via points (5-0).

ADCC 2009

Absolute

Superfight

*Superfight: Robert Drysdale vs. Ronaldo Souza
: Souza defeated Drysdale via points (2-0).

ADCC 2007

ADCC 2005

ADCC 2003

ADCC 2001

ADCC 2000

ADCC 1999

ADCC 1998

ADCC Asian and Oceanic Championship

ADCC European Championship

ADCC North American Championship

ADCC South American Championship

See also

* ADCC weight classes
* List of ADCC Hall of Fame inductees

References

Further reading

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External links

ADCC Homepage

{{Grappling

Sports competitions in the United Arab Emirates
Martial arts in the United Arab Emirates
Grappling competitions
Submission wrestling
Sport in Abu Dhabi

pl:ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships 2009