ADXC 9: Athletes talk about their expectations in the Press Conference

April 17, 2025

It is almost time for the next Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship event. Taking the organization back to France for the first time since its fourth edition, the ADXC 9 is set to land in the Dojo de Paris this Saturday, April 19th, with some of the toughest athletes from the international scene fighting tooth and nail to taste victory inside Grappling's most famous cage.

This Thursday, April 17th, the ADXC has brought together the main stars of the upcoming event and hosted the Fight Week Press Conference, giving each of the athletes the chance to express their thoughts and share their strategies ahead of the big day. Starting with the Jiu-Jitsu Main Event, the French headliner Guillaume Chaine opened up about how it feels to fight in his home country after spending most of his career traveling the world to compete as an Olympic athlete.

"Fighting in this arena is special to me, it's like my second home", he said. "I'm currently retired, but I trust in my Judo and Ne-waza skills to be a great opponent this Saturday."

For his part, Guillaume's opponent and local MMA athlete Thibault Gouti understands that the upcoming will be very different from what he's used to, but still shows confidence that his training will allow him to gain the upper hand and come out victorious.

"This event is one of a kind and a new challenge for me. I've had a long MMA career and been a long time without competing in the gi, but I train it every week. I'm very good at adapting and I'm ready for the fight. If he wants to fight standing up, I'm ready. If he wants to fight on the ground, I'll be chasing the submission."

Over on the Grappling Main Event side of things, the Brazilian Gabriel Sousa embraced the local aesthetic and showed up for the press conference sporting a stylish beret, thanking the organizers and promising a lot of action come Saturday.

"The ADXC always treats athletes very well and I've always wanted to be in one of their Main Events. You'll be seeing a very aggressive match with lots of collar ties on Saturday, count on it."

Meanwhile, the French athlete Anthony de Oliveira showed himself to be thrilled for the opportunity to compete in his homeland, doubling down on Gabriel's promise of an active fight with his Wrestling background.

"I'm very happy to be fighting in my home and will be giving it my all this Saturday. We both have aggressive fighting styles and I'm very good with my Wrestling, so I'm very confident going into the match."

Moving on to the Jiu-Jitsu Co-Main Event, the competitiveness between the athletes went to a whole other level as the British Faris Benlamkaden took the mic and fired some sharp comments at his Brazilian counterpart Davi Vetoraci.

"Since he's now representing Portugal, I'll be representing Brazil", opened Faris, dressed in a Brazilian soccer team shirt. "I already beat his brother, so if I beat him too I'll be their father. Still, this event is super professional and a massive show, I'm very happy to be here."

More than ready to respond to his opponent's provocations, the Portugal-based Davi Vetoraci immediately fired back as soon as he got the mic, showing confidence in his game ahead of the bout.

"He rehearsed that speech a lot before this, but that's understandable. He doesn't really have much Jiu-Jitsu to show for himself, so he needs to talk the talk. This event is a great opportunity and I'll be ready to fight, I only hope that he'll do the same."

Finally, the Grappling Co-Main event stars received the floor, with the Brazilian Piter Frank bringing a powerful message for fight fans and promising another explosive showing.

"I'm here to prove that it is never too late to start. And it isn't just about winning either. I didn't win my previous match here at ADXC but I did put on a show, and I'll do it again."

On the other side, the French black belt Nicolas Renier was thrilled to be back in the organization and is aware of the dangers Piter will be bringing to the cage in the upcoming bout.

"I'm happy to be back and happy to be fighting Piter, he's the same as me, he also goes for the subs. I'm aware of his flying armbars, but I've been training a lot with Mica Galvão and will be ready to fight while defending my arms."

The ADXC 9 is set to take place in Paris this Saturday, April 19th, with all fights broadcast live and exclusively on the TX7.com platform. Follow @adxcofficial on social media to stay up-to-date on all things ADXC, and check out the full ADXC 9 card below!

ADXC 9
APRIL 19TH
PARIS, FRANCE

MAIN EVENT

Guillaume Chaine vs Thibault Gouti (Jiu-Jitsu)

Gabriel Sousa vs Anthony de Oliveira (Grappling)

CO-MAIN EVENT

Davi Vetoraci vs Faris Ben-Lamkadem (Jiu-Jitsu)

Piter Frank vs Nicolas Renier (Grappling)

MAIN CARD

Dory Aoun vs Reda Mebtouche (Jiu-Jitsu)

Aurelie Le Vern vs Salla Simola (Grappling)

SHOWCASE

Thani Al Mehairi vs Garnik Zeynalnian (Youth Jiu-Jitsu)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Ruan Alvarenga vs Yigit Hanay (Grappling)

Tamara Toros vs Stephanie Faure (Jiu-Jitsu)

Luc Rousseau vs Mark Macqueen (Grappling)

SHOWCASE

Mia Perdomo vs Chloe Hyraud (Youth Jiu-Jitsu)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Robson Gracie vs Junior Orgulho (Jiu-Jitsu)

Kasper Larsen vs Tyrone Gonsalves (Grappling)

Davis Asare vs Freddy Lele Talla (Jiu-Jitsu)

SHOWCASE

David Aganov vs Sultan Abdurashidov (Youth Grappling)