ADXC 5: Urijah Faber, Rayron Gracie, and all the champions who rose in Abu Dhabi

August 2, 2024

Marking the organization's first return home to the UAE in six months, the fifth edition of the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship took place this Friday, August 2nd. After putting on memorable shows in Brazil and France, the ADXC cage is now back to the modern Mubadala Arena, bringing some of the best names from both Jiu-Jitsu and MMA to show their grappling skills. As always, fans around the world could check all the thrilling matches at the modern TX7.com platform.

After 14 incredible battles in this evening's card, fight fans are still recovering from the thrills of the competition. In the Grappling Main Event, Urijah Faber showed his stamina as he fought and defeated Bibiano Fernandes nearly twenty years after their first encounter in MMA. Tapping into his wrestling background to thwart Bibiano's attacks, Urijah worked better from the top as he put pressure on his opponent's guard. The Brazilian had some good moments as he managed to land a few takedowns and sweeps, but Urijah's skills shined even from the bottom as he used a deep half-guard and crucifix to earn valuable points in the bout. In the end, The California Kid conquered the ADXC cage via unanimous decision.

"I love Bibiano. This guy changed the lives of many athletes along his career and he's also very hard to submit", complimented Urijah."I felt good fighting in the cage once again. If you're looking for something to change your life, look for martial arts. Abu Dhabi is doing the right thing by investing in something like Jiu-Jitsu."

Meanwhile, the Jiu-Jitsu Main Event saw Rayron Gracie add another ADXC win to his name, once again via submission. Facing Marcos Carrozzino, who started the bout very aggressively, Rayron not only avoided his opponent's attacks but also kept looking for a chance to land his own submission. After defending himself from a guillotine attempt, Rayron used a canto choke, which consists of a collar choke with leg pressure, to submit his opponent with two seconds left in the second round. When asked about the move, Rayron revealed how his uncle's experience played a key role in his victory.

"I know everything is going well when Renzo is by my side. My first loop choke was on, but Marcos escaped really well. The guillotine he threw at me was really tight, but I knew he would put everything on that so I managed to defend and bounce back. Five minutes before the match, Renzo told me to use the Canto Choke around 40 seconds before the end of the round. I did it because even if Renzo asked me to do a backflip, I would do it."

In the Grappling Co-Main Event, Chad Mendes had his wrestling background shining bright in the ADXC cage as he overpowered Diego Brandão, who accepted a last-minute invite and joined the tournament's roster during the fight week. Showcasing his strength with snap downs, positional control, and good arm drag and double-leg entries, Chad was calling the shots throughout the five rounds of the match as he dished out takedowns and even some dangerous guillotine attempts. Diego managed a takedown of his own in the second round, but Chad's relentless pressure got him the title via unanimous decision.

As for the Jiu-Jitsu Co-Main Event, A very technical battle between Pedro Ramalho and Max Lindblad saw the former taking the title in the UAE. With both fighting styles being very similar, the competitors exchanged grips and attacks while defending any dangerous positions. Pedro stood out with good sweeps and an especially dangerous foot attack, while Max got his moment in the spotlight with a toe-hold attempt that landed him on top. At the end of it all, Pedro "Paquito" Ramalho got the win via split decision.

While the Main and Co-Main Events had the attending crowd on the edge of their seats, the Main and Preliminary Cards were not behind when it came to action. Check out below how each of the matches played out.

Main Card

Pouya Rahmani vs Hamdy Abdelwahab

Another stellar display of power and technique by Iranian Pouya Rahmani in the ADXC cage. This time facing Hamdy Abdelwahab, it didn't take long for Pouya to takedown with a single-leg and go for the back, completely dominating his opponent and outstretching his arms for the crowd before ultimately sliding his arms under the neck and getting the win with a choke from the back.

Davi Vetoraci vs Amin Boudhina

Davi Vetoraci left no room for doubts when it comes to his skills in the ADXC. Debuting in the organization against the Tunisian Amin Boudhina, Davi went all-out from the start and attacked with a very dangerous flying triangle and then shifted to an armbar attempt, which Amin defended. Later on, Davi feinted an omoplata and, when Amin spun to escape, locked the winning armbar.

Jonnatas Gracie vs Burak Sarman

A lot of movement in the duel between Brazilian representative Jonnatas Gracie and Australia's Burak Sarman. While Burak showed a lot of agility in the cage as he dished out flying triangle and armbar attempts, in addition to a couple of dangerous leglocks, the experienced Jonnatas used his pressure from the top and controlled the match, taking the back and even mounting. When the clock ran out, the referees unanimously gave Jonnatas his third win in the organization.

Felipe Bezerra vs Vladimir Blium

In a duel of heavyweights, Felipe Bezerra showed ADXC fight fans why he's consistently conquered the gold in the main AJP tournaments. With Vladimir Blium playing from half-guard, Felipe put his pressure to work from the top, passing the guard multiple times and even mounting to take the win via unanimous decision.

Ruan Alvarenga vs AJ Agazarm

A great match for Ruan Alvarenga as he conquered the win over the experienced AJ Agazarm. The fight began with AJP making entries in the single-leg while Ruan used an arm drag to get the single. In one of AJ's attempts, Ruan sprawled and attacked with a guillotine, highlighting his strategic nature in the duel. While avoiding his opponent's takedown attempts, Ruan worked well from the top, mounted twice on the second and third rounds, and attempted to submit with a kata-gatame and triangle in the final stretch. When it came down to the referees, Ruan got the win via unanimous decision.

Preliminary Card

Omar Al Suwaidi vs Samuel Marquez

In a high-octane match from beginning to end, the Emirati Omar Al Suwaidi conquered a mighty victory in his homeland. With Samuel Marquez working from the guard, Omar kept a high pace throughout the duel, taking the back and attempting a choke in the first round, jumping to attack the arm in the second round, and a choke attempt followed by a beautiful tomoe nage in the final moments of the third round. At the end of it all, it was no surprise that Omar got the win via unanimous decision.

Seilkhan Bolatbek vs Emad Ahmedin

A quick win for Seilkhan Bolatbek in his second ADXC fight. Facing Emad Ahmedin, Seilkhan refused to let his opponent work from the guard and got up after being pulled, quickly jumping to the back, locking his legs, and ending the bout with a cross face.

Zaifeiria Panagiotarakou vs Yara Kakish

Greece representative Zaifeiria Panagiotarakou showed her skillset with a first-round submission in the ADXC. The match started with a lot of action as both competitors refused to go down, but after the fight was restarted from the center of the cage, Zaifeiria went for the single-leg and quickly got to the back, using her firm grip on the collar to choke and conquer the title in Abu Dhabi.

Abe Alsaghir vs Xiaosong Shi

Fully using the cage to his advantage, Abe Alsaghir got the win over Xiaosong Shi, with the latter trying to work from the guard while the former strategically used the cage walls to exert an incredible amount of pressure on his opponent. Xiaosong had some good moments in the match, like a particularly dangerous guillotine choke attempt in the second round, but Abe avoided any dangerous moves and maintained the pressure to emerge victorious with a unanimous decision.

Balqees Al Hashmi vs Maria Odintsova

Opening the night of competition, the Emirati Balqees Al Hashmi dominated her match against Maria Odintsova. Making full use of her guard, Balqees stayed in control the whole time, dishing out some promising attacks and using her positional control to keep her opponent under pressure at all times. When the duel came to an end, Balqees got the win via unanimous decision.

ADXC 5

Abu Dhabi, UAE

August 2nd, 2024

Main Event

Urijah Faber defeated Bibiano Fernandes via unanimous decision

Rayron Gracie defeated Marcos Carrozzino via canto choke (R2 2:58)

Co-Main Event

Chad Mendes defeated Diego Brandão via unanimous decision

Pedro Ramalho defeated Max Lindblad split decision

Main Card

Pouya Rahmani defeated Hamdy Abdelwahab via choke from the back (R1 2:03)

Davi Vetoraci defeated Amin Boudhina via armbar (R1 2:31)

Jonnatas Gracie defeated Burak Sarman via unanimous decision

Felipe Bezerra defeated Vladimir Blium via unanimous decision

Ruan Alvarenga defeated AJ Agazarm via unanimous decision

Preliminary Card

Omar Al Suwaidi defeated Samuel Marquez via unanimous decision

Seilkhan Bolatbek defeated Emad Ahmedin via cross face (R1 1:03)

Zaifeiria Panagiotarakou defeated Yara Kakish via one-handed RNC (R1 1:13)

Abe Alsaghir defeated Xiaosong Shi via unanimous decision

Balqees Al Hashmi defeated Maria Odintsova via unanimous decision