ADXC: Fans choose the best athlete of 2024

April 3, 2025

Putting on memorable shows for fight fans worldwide, the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship has been known to be a hotspot for talented athletes ever since its first edition, mixing names from Jiu-Jitsu and MMA inside a cage to bring out the best of their skills and see who comes out on top. With the organization coming out of a great season and preparing to kick 2025 off with another stellar event on April 19th, the ADXC allowed the people to decide which competitor should be awarded the "Athlete of the Year" accolade for 2024, with Pouya Rahmani coming out on top of the popular vote by a large margin.

An MMA and Grappling competitor fighting out of Iran, Pouya Rahmani combined his mileage as an athlete with technical prowess and sheer strength to overcome both his opponents in the ADXC and currently stands undefeated in the organization. He made his first appearance in the cage way back in January of last year, heading to Abu Dhabi and entering the ADXC 2's main card to face the powerhouse Denzel Freeman in a Grappling bout. The duel was one of the highlights from the event, with both sides driving the attending crowd wild as they exchanged wrestling throws and takedown attempts, but Pouya had the clear upper hand throughout the bout as he dished out attacks and even took his opponent's back twice between the three rounds, so it was no surprise when he took the win via decision.

With one victory to his name, Pouya found himself back inside the cage a couple of months later, making his way back to Abu Dhabi and joining the ADXC 5 roster in another Grappling bout. This time going up against Hamdy Abdelwahab in the main card, Pouya decided to put on an even greater show than his debut, and he wasted no time in doing so. After briefly assessing his opponent's defenses, Pouya landed a single-leg takedown and quickly made his way to the back, even going as far as outstretching his arms to the crowd in a gladiator style as Hamdy tried to defend himself in the turtle position. With the arena growing louder by the second, Pouya quickly ended the duel by sliding his arm beneath Hamdy's neck and submitted his adversary with a choke from the back in the first few minutes of round one to become an ADXC double champion.

The other running candidates were the Welsh Ffion Davies and the Brazilians Jansen Gomes and Henrique Ceconi. Catch Pouya Rahmani, the other contenders, and even the upcoming ADXC 9 exclusively on the TX7.com platform, and be sure to follow @adxcofficial on social media to stay up-to-date on all things ADXC.