Author: Anton Tabuena

ADXC 6 had an upset in the main event, with Muhammad Mokaev losing to late replacement Rogerio Bontorin.

Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship 6 (ADXC 6) is in the books, which provided both gi and no gi action from a card that had a mix of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and mixed martial arts (MMA) stars.

Two UFC veterans headlined the event, and it saw undefeated fighter Muhammad Mokaev get upset by Rogerio Bontorin, who stepped in on extremely late notice. Mokaev was originally supposed to face Raul Rosas Jr., but that match up was supposedly blocked by the UFC.

Bontorin upsets Mokaev on short notice, Bellator champ Patchy Mix wins at ADXC 6

Muhammad Mokaev tried a flying submission and jumped a guillotine early, with both ill-advised attempts leading to him conceding top position in each of the first two rounds. Those proved to be costly as the match ended up in a split decision.

Mokaev shot for numerous takedowns throughout the contest, but apart from a few scrambles, Bontorin largely neutralized his wrestling game. Bontorin also managed to stay on top on the very few ground exchanges late in the match to secure the upset victory.

It wasn’t the most eventful grappling affair, with barely enough time even spent on the mat, but Bontorin managed to impress after flying across the globe in just a couple of days’ notice.

In one of the other key matches, Bellator champion Patchy Mix came close to a rare Scottish twister, but Kairat Akhmetov somehow managed to survive the painful attempt. Mix also did get mount position a couple of times, leading to a comfortable decision win over the former ONE champion.

In the featured gi match, BJJ world champ Jansen Gomes went 2-0 in ADXC after winning a pretty entertaining and clear decision over Uanderson Ferreira. He had a couple of nice submission attempts and some clean takedowns, even using the fence really well for a pure gi competitor.

Also on the card was another battle of MMA vets, with Jussier Formiga taking a decision over Tagir Ulanbekov.

For full results and highlights from ADXC 6, check here.

ADXC had a simple solution to gi problems, but too short rounds

Apart from booking all these MMA fighters, ADXC also holds their events in the cage, and uses a 10-point must system. I understand that they’re trying to appeal to the MMA fanbase, but I think that hosting grappling matches in just 3-minute rounds is a big mistake.

Without much time to work for a submission, it just badly hurt the entertainment value, and the card ended with eight straight decisions.

ADXC should really rethink this set up, as by the time someone actually did get in trouble, the round was almost over and it was easier to stall — especially in the gi — until the final bell. Even white belts in normal BJJ competitions get five minutes straight, but these are high level black belts, who should at least get that much per round at the bare minimum.

Outside of that, ADXC did have a unique and simple solution to a common gi problem of BJJ belts always getting untangled. It seems minor and looks weird, but taping it prevented all those resets and goofy interventions, with referees tugging on belts while people are grappling.

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Muhammad Mokaev takes on Rogerio Bontorin in a grappling match in Abu Dhabi. Join us for live results of ADXC 6 right here!

Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship 6 (ADXC 6) happens TODAY (Fri., Oct. 25, 2024), in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with a grappling card filled with familiar names from both the mixed martial arts (MMA) and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) scenes.

The caged grappling event on “Fight Island” will feature both gi- and no-gi matches, streaming LIVE on TX7.com, with the main card starting at 11:50 am ET.

Headlining the card is Muhammad Mokaev, who will be taking on a late replacement and fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran, Rogerio Bontorin. He was originally slated to face Raul Rosas Jr., but Mokaev claims that UFC stepped in and blocked the match from pushing through.

Also on the card are two more no-gi grappling matches between MMA fighters, with Bellator Bantamweight champion, Patchy Mix, taking on former ONE champion, Kairat Akhmetov, and UFC veterans Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Jussier Formiga. Also among the featured bouts is BJJ world champion Jansen Gomes taking on Uanderson Ferreira in the gi.

Follow along below as we bring you live results and video highlights from the BJJ event below:

ADXC 6 Quick Results

Muhammad Mokaev vs Rogerio Bontorin (No gi) — Rogerio Bontorin def. Muhammad Mokaev by split decision (49-46, 48-47, 47-48)
Jansen Gomes vs Uanderson Ferreira (Gi) — Jansen Gomes def. Uanderson Ferreira by unanimous decision (48-47×2, 49-46)
Patchy Mix vs Kairat Akhmetov (No gi) — Patchy Mix def. Kairat Akhmetov by unanimous decision (49-46×2, 49-45)
Isaque Bahiense vs Bruno Lima (Gi) — Bruno Lima def. Isaque Bahiense by unanimous decision (49-46 x3)
Tagir Ulanbekov vs Jussier Formiga (No gi) — Jussier Formiga def. Tagir Ulanbekov by unanimous decision (48-47 x2, 49-46)
Jackson Sousa vs Pedro Machado (Gi) — Pedro Machado def. Jackson Sousa by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Catriel Rodrigues vs Moritz Kollensperger (No gi) — Catriel Rodrigues def. Moritz Kollensperger by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Lucas Protasio vs Rolando Samson (Gi) — Rolando Samson def. Lucas Protasio by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
Joao Zeferino vs Yan Cabral (No gi) — Joao Zeferino def. Yan Cabral by submission (rear naked choke), R2
Emily Ferreira vs Ludmila Fiori (Gi) — Emily Ferreira def. Ludmila Fiori by submission (Kimura), R3
Luccas Lira vs Marat Kurbanov (No gi) — Luccas Lira def. Marat Kurbanov by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Yaroslav Rymashevkii vs Youness Bennouali (Gi) — Youness Bennouali def. Yaroslav Rymashevkii by split decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)
Riki Yoshinaga vs Valor Boyer (No gi) — Valor Boyer def. Riki Yoshinaga by submission (Aoki lock), R2
Dayane Bazzoni vs Carol Brunacio (Gi) — Carol Brunacio def. Dayane Bazzoni by unanimous decision (30-26 x2, 30-27)
Jaures Dea vs Hamza Hamry (No gi) — Jaures Dea def. Hamza Hamry by submission (armbar), R1

ADXC 6 Results, Video Highlights

Muhammad Mokaev vs Rogerio Bontorin (No gi)

Final result: Rogerio Bontorin def. Muhammad Mokaev by split decision (49-46, 48-47, 47-48)

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Jansen Gomes vs Uanderson Ferreira (Gi)

Final result: Jansen Gomes def. Uanderson Ferreira by unanimous decision (48-47×2, 49-46)

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Patrick Mix vs Kairat Akhmetov (No gi)

Final result: Patchy Mix def. Kairat Akhmetov by unanimous decision (49-46×2, 49-45)

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Tagir Ulanbekov vs Jussier Formiga (No gi)

Final result: Jussier Formiga def. Tagir Ulanbekov by unanimous decision (48-47 x2, 49-46)

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Isaque Bahiense vs Bruno Lima (Gi)

Final result: Bruno Lima def. Isaque Bahiense by unanimous decision (49-46 x3)

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Get up to date on all the biggest news from the grappling scene.

Welcome to the BJJ Beat! On this recurring feature, we’ll tackle the biggest news from the professional grappling scene, and roll everything up in an easily digestible and familiar jiu-jitsu format.

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Warm ups

No submissions? Gordon Ryan agrees to another special rules exhibition

If you’re hoping Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) star Gordon Ryan becomes more active in competition again, he is technically talking about returning soon. Unfortunately, it’s just another weird special rules match.

Ryan is discussing a match with Pat Downey, a champion wrestler who transitioned to professional grappling. He wants it under ADCC scoring, but without submissions.

Why don’t I seem excited about a jiu-jitsu champ taking on a wrestling champ? Well, because they did this already, with the most predictable special rules match back in 2020. Downey beat him in seconds during the wrestling rules round, then Ryan easily won in the submission only round.

“When my knee is better” also suggests this — or unfortunately any other competition —might not even happen.

After achieving great things in his career, Gordon Ryan seems to be in a stage where he’s now far more selective of his matches. He even managed to convince the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) to change the rules and create a new medal for him without having to join a tournament.

Nicky Rod thinks Gordon Ryan is afraid of losing

According to the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) millionaire in Nick Rodriguez, Ryan’s inactivity and selectiveness at this stage of his career comes from wanting to keep on to his long unbeaten streak.

“I offered him a million dollars. I don’t know what else to do (to make Gordon Ryan accept a match),” Nicky Rod said after winning at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8. “My offer was a fairly simple. After I won CJI, I said ‘let’s do a bet match, my $1 million vs. your $1 million, winner take all.’ And I said we’ll stream it free on YouTube.

“He came back like a couple of weeks later with a rebuttal that was like ‘okay, I’ll do the match, only if Craig Jones competes with me on the same day, and only if my stomach doesn’t hurt, and only if it’s a no time limit match, and only if it’s under these rule sets.’

“His answer is like reading a text from a girlfriend that’s breaking up with you. It was super long, after the first period I’m kind of out of there,” Rodriguez said. “It was kind of a yes, kind of a no, so who knows?”

“He doesn’t want to lose,” Rodriguez claimed.

For what it’s worth, Gordon Ryan didn’t really sound too interested in making it happen, as his lengthy message “accepting” the match did have a laundry list of caveats and conditions.

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Drills

BJJ star Mica Galvao targets switch to… Olympic wrestling?

Mica Galvao is already among the top pound-for-pound grapplers today, but the ADCC 2024 gold medalist and IBJJF grand slam winner has loftier goals. The 21-year-old grappling phenom wants to also switch to wrestling and compete in the Olympics.

“I want to compete in wrestling. It’s the most straightforward way to get to the Olympics,” Galvao said at the Mundo da Luta podcast. “In Judo, the federation is a bit more restrictive. I’m a brown belt in Judo, but I didn’t continue to black belt because it would require a lot of time, and honestly, I don’t have the patience or time for that. But it would definitely be an accomplishment to add to my resume.

“Wrestling feels more familiar to me, and I think I could balance it with Jiu-Jitsu training. If my level is good enough to qualify for the Olympics—which I love training for—I’d be overjoyed. It’s a dream,” he said.

Despite his accolades in jiu-jitsu, Galvao is arguably the less accomplished grappler at home. His girlfriend, Amit Elor, might be able to help him achieve those goals, being a two time freestyle wrestling world champ and 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist.

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Move of the Day

Pro wrestling or BJJ? Flying submission off the top of the pit!

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Rolls

Sore loser dad flips off little girl in kids jiu-jitsu competition

This video recently made the rounds in BJJ circles. A dad got upset after his son lost to a girl in a kids competition, and he went on to flip off the little girl. Classy parenting right there.

After the video went viral, the father tried to explain and justify his behavior in the comments of many of these posts.

“This unfortunately was me in the video. It was uncalled for and not something I am proud of. This has nothing to do with the gym. I completely lost my cool,” the man wrote.

“What was not seen in the video was after the match ended which my son lost he was crying. The girl in the video turned to my son and made the crying face at my son and told him to cry about it. The ref warned her to stop, she walked towards me and said the same thing which is when I lost my cool. It should have never happened… (two) wrongs don’t make a right and all I can do is apologize. I should have acted like an adult. Unfortunately I didn’t.”

The father of the girl disputed this excuse in his lengthy version of these events, saying “the video here literally shows her with her hand on her hip and the other arm extended, walking over to you. Where’s the mocking?”

Either way, the actions of a child can’t justify an adult acting like one too. It’s a kids’ competition. Don’t be that guy.

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Cooldown

ADCC medalists added to upcoming WNO 25 and Polaris 30 cards

Two upcoming grappling events are starting to shape up. Who’s Number One 25 (WNO 25) will feature both of the double gold medalists from ADCC 2024 in Kaynan Duarte and Adele Fornarino.

On December 4, they will each face off against IBJJF no gi world champions. Duarte will be taking on Roberto Jimenez in the main event, and Fornarino will be in a vacant WNO title fight against Alex Nguyen.

Another WNO title fight will also be on the card, with Pedro Marinho defending his belt against Izaak Michell.

Polaris 30, happens on November 2, and will be headlined by a grappling match up between popular MMA strikers Carlos Condit and Michael Venom Page. Also recently added to the line up is teenage phenom and ADCC 2024 silver medalist Helena Crevar. The 17-year-old teammate of Gordon Ryan is returning to Polaris to defend her 70kg title against Nia Blackman.

Polaris champion Keith Krikorian is also moving up a division to face off against Jed Hue.

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Review

To close things out, here are other interesting BJJ stories you might have missed.

• “I’m a millionaire with no CTE” – Nicky Rod says he’s uninterested in a future MMA career.
• Fired? ADCC’s head organizer is no longer with the promotion, and he has since challenged Craig Jones to a fist fight
• IBJJF’s “The Crown” happens in November, and here’s the full line up for the rare professional gi event.

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There’s surprising news in the grappling scene, as ADCC will be replacing Mo Jassim, the public face of its company.

Soon after the 2024 ADCC World Championships — and its public feud with the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) — the prestigious grappling promotion will now be replacing its head organizer. Indeed, Mo Jassim — who has been the promoter and public face of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) these last several years — is no longer with the company.

ADCC to replace head organizer Mo Jassim

Jassim announced the surprising news on his private Instagram page, stating that he and ADCC have parted ways.

“l would like to announce that I have decided to step down as the head organizer of ADCC,” Jassim wrote. “I would to like thank Sheikh Tahnoon for giving me the opportunity to be the only person to organize 3 ADCC worlds. Thank you to Guy Neivens for allowing me to move up from wristband boy to head organizer. Thank you to Seth Daniels and Shawn Fowler, we gave every event we organized everything we had and I am very proud of the work we accomplished. Thank you to FloGrappling for supporting me and ADCC, they were great to deal with.

“Thank you to all of the athletes that I have worked with the past 20 years. Also thank you to all of the media who supported us and helped promote ADCC and the sport.

“The sport has never been in a better place to break through mainstream, which has always been the end goal. My loyalty will always be to ADCC but any organizer or event that will grow the sport has my full support if needed. I look forward to being just a fan again.”

ADCC was always highly regarded in the grappling scene, but Jassim truly deserves a lot of credit for significantly growing its events and helping the sport reach a much wider audience during his tenure.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) shows used to only appeal to fellow practitioners of the sport, but the professional grappling scene has since grown exponentially. ADCC’s biennial world championships was at the forefront of that, with Jassim playing a big role not just in keeping elite talent, but also in significantly improving production value to appeal to more casual audiences.

It’s after that growth was achieved, where concerns about lack of improvement in athlete pay were raised. This sparked the ADCC and CJI rivalry, with Jones eventually starting his own promotion to disrupt the sport and highlight these issues. He hosted CJI on the same city and same weekend as ADCC 2024, then poached several BJJ stars by offering show money that matched ADCC’s tournament prize, plus $1 million to its winners.

The situation was tense.

Nevertheless, the rivalry ended up helping many athletes get paid significantly better that weekend. CJI gave out record purses in BJJ, and because of the competition, ADCC also increased pay for women and offered show money for the first time to retain key stars.

Perhaps it is also in part due to these events that led to ADCC restructuring?

Fired? Craig Jones and Mo Jassim continue to trade barbs

Jassim recently stated he’d want to do things differently “if” he gets a chance to host another ADCC World Championships, so perhaps the writing was already on the wall.

As expected, though, Jones continued to jab at Jassim online, stating it wasn’t his choice to “step down” from ADCC.

“You can’t fire me, I quit,” Jones wrote on Instagram.

After seeing this, Jassim decided to challenge Jones to a fist fight as he responded in the comments section.

Jones went on to write a comment and film a whole skit in response, taking another jab at ADCC athlete pay and making people compete for exposure and “prestige.”

There’s still no word on Jassim’s replacement, but Jones didn’t stop his trolling there. The CJI promoter says he’s willing to take over Jassim’s role himself.

“I’ve decided to take over ADCC and restore it to its former glory,” Jones wrote in a series of jokes and jabs at Jassim. “I will even allow Mo Jassim (to) be the wristband boy again. I don’t hold a grudge.”

ADCC’s next world championships is targeted for 2026. Trials and qualifications will happen the year before that though, so it might not take very long for their backers in Abu Dhabi to make a decision on their next head organizer. It’ll also be very interesting to see if there will be major changes to how the promotion is run under different leadership.

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UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8 headliner Nick Rodriguez shuts the door on a potential dangerous move to mixed martial arts (MMA).

Last week, Nick Rodriguez followed up on his $1 million tournament win at Craig Jones Invitational (CJI), scoring another impressive submission victory in UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8’s (UFC FPI 8) main event (highlights here).

Dana White was also in attendance as Rodriguez extended his record for most wins in UFC FPI history, but would he ever consider crossing over from UFC’s grappling venture to the actual mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion?

Nicky Rod’s wrestling and top pressure game does seem immediately transferrable to MMA, but unfortunately for fight fans, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) star and “Black Belt Slayer” claims he’s more than happy to stay in his lane.

“I’m a millionaire with no CTE — I think I’m good,” Rodriguez said during UFC FPI 8’s post-fight press conference (watch it here). “Those guys are a different breed. I understand my capabilities in jiu-jitsu and I understand what it would take to become the UFC champion. For me it would probably take five years committing to striking and then that takes away from some of the jiu-jitsu.

“I don’t know if I would love fighting, but I know I absolutely love jiu-jitsu, so that’s what I do,” Rodriguez added. “I wake up everyday with a goal in mind when it comes to training. There’s no need for me to take a different path. I’m making great money, and that money continues to multiply as I make better decisions.”

An athletic 28-year-old, with good wrestling and elite grappling could conceivably do well in MMA, especially at heavyweight. Although Nicky Rod does have a point that it doesn’t seem to be the best idea to make the switch now.

The professional grappling scene has been rapidly growing, and he’s among the few top BJJ stars — like his rival Gordon Ryan — who can make really good money not just by competing but also selling instructional videos.

It’s hard to fault anyone who could make a living without adding serious health risks, especially since many MMA champions have recently come out with stories about CTE symptoms and their desperate need for the UFC lawsuit settlement money.

It’s not worth it …

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Nick Rodriguez and Dante Leon took big wins and made it look easy at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8.

UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8 (UFC FPI 8) is in the books, and it saw a fun clash of wrestlers as Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) million dollar winner Nick Rodriguez avoided an upset and dominated Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) standout Michael Pixley in the main event.

The event produced a lot of entertaining no gi Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) action, and we run down the key matches on the UFC FPI 8 card below.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

No upset! Nicky Rod outwrestles, submits Michael Pixley

Pixley wanted another massive upset to follow up his highlight reel win over Nicholas Meregali at ADCC 2024, but Nick Rod proved to be a little too much for him in all areas.

While the NCAA Division II champion in Pixley was the more credentialed wrestler on paper, it was Nicky Rod who got multiple takedowns. Rodriguez won the wrestling exchanges, got on top and worked his trademark body lock passing to secure mount in the opening round. That smothering pressure only continued in the overtime period, as he again got a takedown, before eventually transitioning to the back and finishing with a rear naked choke.

Rodriguez outclassed Pixley, much like he has been doing to many credentialed grapplers recently. Apart from slightly more stand up exchanges early, this pretty much looked the same as Nicky Rod’s dominant run at CJI where his body lock passing repeatedly led to clean back takes and rear naked choke finishes.

The winningest grappler in UFC FPI history improved to 7-1 in the promotion, and Rodriguez continued to prove his case as one of the most imposing and dominant forces in jiu-jitsu today.

Renato Canuto heel hooks PJ Barch at UFC FPI 8 co-main event

The UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8 co-main event between Renato Canuto and PJ Barch ended up with a highlight reel finish. Known for his flashy, flying submissions, Canuto lived up to his reputation as he pulled off another slick sequence. After showcasing improved wrestling and even taking down a wrestler in Barch early, Canuto eventually jumped on a scissor takedown and immediately transitioned to a heel hook that forced a quick tap.

The Canuto family ended up with a great evening. Not only did Renato win the evening’s co-main event and settled the rubber match against Barch, his wife Raquel Canuto also got a submission finish earlier in the card.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Dante Leon gets slapped, then easily chokes out Andy Varela

Another big standout from UFC FPI 8 was Dante Leon, who showcased why he’s among the top pound-for-pound grapplers in the planet now. The recent ADCC absolute bronze medalist again moved up to face a bigger, stronger foe in Andy Varela, but Leon still made it look easy. After a chippy start, where Varela was deducted a point for slapping him in the face, Leon immediately returned the favor by swiftly locking in an arm-in guillotine off a takedown attempt.

Leon also called for a title fight after.

“Here’s the cool thing about me. I can kind of fight at any weight class,” Leon said. “I can go down to 155, stay at 170, go up and fight someone at 220 lbs. I kinda don’t give a f—k. But I want to win titles, so if UFC Fight Pass ever wants to do 155 or 170 titles, I want first crack that and I deserve it!”

Gabriel Sousa and Josh Cisneros also put on a show earlier on the card, with constant scrambles and non-stop action. After a scramble heavy opening round, Sousa managed to score two points early in overtime after a takedown that his Filipino-American opponent conceded. Cisneros then turned it up after, and had an armbar attempt and multiple near-back takes. Sousa looked to be in trouble up until the very last second, but he managed to defend just enough to survive, avoid getting scored on and ultimately win due to the early takedown.

Also getting finishes on the event are Ronaldo Junior and Raquel Canuto. For full results and highlights from UFC FPI 8, check here.

UFC FPI makes good changes to ruleset, mat area

UFC Fight Pass Invitational organizers made major changes for this event, adjusting their core ruleset and their fighting surface. The most noticeable change was removing the elevated stage and lowering the mat to the floor to make it safer for the athletes.

The other change was to their ruleset. The opening eight-minute rounds (or 10 for main events or title bouts) are submission-only, apart from potential point deductions due to stalling. If there’s no finish, they go to an overtime period with points similar to ADCC that rewards takedowns, passes and dominant positions. The difference from ADCC though, is that FPI only deducts points for stalling, not guard pulling.

Some of the early matches went to overtime, but I do like the changes, and the event ended with five straight submissions. The new point system really encouraged action, while also not favoring a certain style of grappling and keeping things balanced for either guard or top players. Grapplers also didn’t worry about falling off a stage and just continued scrambling near the edge of the mat area. It’s not quite like CJI’s alley walls that nearly eliminated resets completely, but it was still an improvement from the previous UFC Fight Pass Invitational card.

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