ADXC 3: GOMES, MESQUITA, AND ALL THE CHAMPIONS IN BALNEÁRIO CAMBORIÚ

After a night of duels for the books, the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship delivered the grand tournament that fight fans were expecting. Held this Saturday, March 2nd, in the Brazilian city of Balneário Camboriú, the ADXC 3 brought its famous cage, merciless ruleset, and the best athletes from Jiu-Jitsu and MMA to the Expocentro as one of the shows of the BC Fight Week. And what a show it was, with the organization successfully bringing all the things that made the ADXC captivating to its first foreign venture.

In the Jiu-Jitsu Main Event, the Brazilian Jansen Gomes made good on his promise and responded to the Portuguese Bruno Lima's previous provocations with a lot of action in the ADXC cage, taking the victory via unanimous decision. With exceptional work in the use of the cage, Jansen opened the fight with a beautiful double leg takedown, using the cage and the grips on the pants to throw Bruno to the ground later on and even taking his opponent's back twice over the five three-minute rounds. After the win, Jansen talked about his gridwork and left a sharp message to his opponent:

"I prepared in Dubai with Thiago Sá and worked hard to understand the cage during training to arrive well prepared. I just want to take this chance to give a message to Bruno Lima: You're a long way from home. This is Brazil!"

In the Grappling Main Event, Beatriz Mesquita guaranteed her favoritism by quickly and ruthlessly submitting Jennifer Maia. After taking her opponent down with a beautiful uchimata, Beatriz put pressure from the top, attempted a kimura, slid to the back, and submitted with a rear naked choke just over 2 minutes into the first round.

"I loved the adrenaline of fighting in the cage and I can't wait to get back. I wanted to issue a challenge to any MMA athletes who think they are good at Grappling and submissions. I challenge any of them to face me here in the ADXC cage", stated Beatriz after her victory.

In the Jiu-Jitsu Co-Main Event, Rayron magnificently bore the weight of the Gracie surname and lived up to the family history in the sport. Accompanied by his uncle Renzo and cousin Gregor, Rayron faced and submitted the favorite Fellipe Andrew in the light heavyweight match. In the first two rounds, Fellipe worked from the guard while Rayron pressured from above, in the best Roger Gracie style with firm grips. In the third round, Fellipe opened up the game a little more and tried some takedowns, but the decisive moment came about in the following round. After a beautiful takedown by Rayron, Fellipe managed to avoid a guard pass, but the Gracie representative quickly grabbed the collar and choked Fellipe to end the bout.

Meanwhile, the Grappling Main Event saw Henrique Ceconi come out on top against Roberto Cyborg after an incredible showing of stamina and strength from both sides. The competitors went at each other tirelessly with wrestling attacks and scrambles that left fight fans on the edge of their seats. Cyborg had some good moments during the match, even going as far as taking his opponent's back and securing one hook, but Ceconi was almost a force of nature, escaping any dangerous positions and unleashing a barrage of attacks and takedown attempts. After the 15 minutes were up, the referees were left with a real head-scratcher, but Henrique Ceconi's offensiveness landed him the victory via split decision.

In addition to the battles that crowned the ADXC 3 as another success, the Main and Preliminary Cards brought about their own intense moments throughout some great battles, so let's check out how each of them played out!

Gutemberg Pereira vs. Pedro Lucas

As former teammates, Gutemberg Pereira and Pedro Lucas know a lot about each other's fighting styles and, consequently, knew exactly how to best don their gis and shield themselves from dangerous attacks. Gutemberg pulled guard and was constantly looking for chances to sweep and land the decisive submission, but a wary Pedro held his ground while keeping an eye for any chances to land a winning counter. After all was said and done, the match ended up in the very first draw in the history of the ADXC.

Jonnatas Gracie vs. Levi Jones-Leary

After a balanced Grappling match, Jonnatas Gracie emerged victorious from his duel against Levi Leary-Jones. Levi wasn't shy about his target, constantly entangling himself in his opponent's legs while attempting some pretty dangerous attacks, but Jonnatas' stellar footwork kept him safe while he sought the opportunity to breach Levi's guard, showing aggressiveness throughout the regulated time. When the clock ran out, the referees unanimously decided that Jonnatas Gracie was the winner.

Julia Alves vs. Ana Schmitt

In a Jiu-Jitsu match, Julia Alves made the best out of a tough situation to earn the win in the ADXC 3. Facing the experienced Ana Schmitt in the cage, Julia quickly found herself locked in her opponent's guard and was unable to breach the defense before the time was up. But despite being trapped in that guard, Julia never wavered and maintained near-constant pressure on Ana, keeping the action high as she nearly took her opponent's back multiple times in the nine minutes of the duel. In the end, her efforts were rewarded as the referees unanimously decided that she was the victor.

Fabricio Andrey vs. Ruan Alvarenga

Another victory for the Hokage in the ADXC. In a high-octane Grappling battle, Fabricio and Ruan went at each other with impressive speed while they exchanged takedown attempts, with Fabricio catching his big break after countering a double leg attempt from Ruan with a guillotine, mounting to increase the pressure and submitting his opponent to once again step out of the ADXC cage as a champion.

Samuel Nagai vs. Israel Almeida

Debuting in the ADXC, Samuel Nagai donned his gi and submitted his way to the top in the organization's cage. With the experience he gained after competing in many tournaments around the world, the "Samurai" showed his wisdom and caution as he sized up Israel Almeida in the first couple of rounds, never exposing himself to any unnecessary risks while keeping an eye out for any chances to end the match early. That chance, as it turns out, presented itself in the third round, with Samuel taking Israel's back and quickly landing a shoulder lock to finish the duel and taste his first victory in the ADXC.

Pedro Alex "Bombom" vs. Daniel "Big Dan" Manasoiu

Pedro Bombom launches himself to his very first victory in the ADXC cage. Fighting without the gi against the strongman Big Dan Manasoiu, Bombom wisely chose to bet on his agility and employed some lighting-quick passes to reach side control early on. After conquering the title of champion in the first ADXC, Big Dan wasn't about to take that lying down and went on to launch his signature leg attacks, but Bombom was ready for that and avoided the submission attempts while also dishing out some attacks of his own. In the last round of the match, Bombom even managed an incredible takedown on Big Dan, which sealed the deal on his victory for the referees, who unanimously voted for the Brazilian at the end.

Lucas Protasio vs. Pedro Maia

Lucas Protasio got the win in the ADXC cage, but Pedro Maia sure made him work for it. The Jiu-Jitsu battle was all action from the get-go, with both athletes showcasing their wrestling on all three rounds as they scrambled while looking for the chance to land the winning submission. The match could have gone either way until the final round, when Lucas used a single leg to throw Maia to the ground, quickly taking his opponent's back and attempting a choke that tipped the scales in his favor. At the end of it all, the referees unanimously decided that Lucas was the winner.

João Zeferino vs. Bruno Antonietta

Fighting without the gi in his home country, João Zeferino was unstoppable in the ADXC cage. Facing Bruno Antonietta in a three-round battle, João was quick to impose his game on his opponent and offered him no quarter throughout the match. After mounting on every single round, João finally found the chance he was looking for in the last round, locking the triangle armbar that led him to victory in his debut at the organization.

Zayed Alkatheeri vs. Oziel Santos

Zayed Alkatheeri is an ADXC veteran and it shows. Using the cage as another weapon in his arsenal, the UAE rising star maintained control throughout the Jiu-Jitsu match with his positional awareness and technical know-how, giving Oziel Santos a very hard time as the latter struggled to defend the many foot attacks that Zayed unleashed during the match. When the time was up, there was really only one choice and Zayed rose as the ADXC 3 champion.

Seilkhan Bolatbek vs. Fernando Santos

Opening the ADXC 3 card with the right foot, Kazakhstan's Seilkhan Bolatbek submitted his Brazilian opponent in the first round and showed just how far Jiu-Jitsu has come in its quest to globalize its teachings. Fighting in a Grappling match, Seilkhan quickly attempted a takedown but found himself in the business end of Fernando Santos' guillotine choke, putting him in a very tough spot early on. Despite that, Seilkhan powered through and managed to find enough room to lock a decisive heel hook, taking the victory and setting the tone for the rest of the tournament.

ADXC 3

EXPOCENTRO, BALNEÁRIO CAMBORIÚ - BRAZIL

MARCH 2, 2024

Main Event

Jansen Gomes defeated Bruno Lima via unanimous decision

Beatriz Mesquita defeated Jennifer Maia via rear naked choke (R1 2:06)

Co-Main Event

Rayron Gracie defeated Fellipe Andrew via lapel choke (R4 0:39)

Henrique "Ceconi" Cardoso defeated Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu via split decision

Main Card

Gutemberg Pereira and Pedro Lucas fought to a draw

Jonnatas Gracie defeated Levi Leary-Jones via unanimous decision

Julia Alves defeated Ana Carolina Schmitt via unanimous decision

Fabricio Andrey defeated Ruan Alvarenga via guillotine (R2 2:27)

Samuel Nagai defeated Israel Almeida via shoulder lock (R3 1:38)

Preliminary Card

Pedro Alex "Bombom" defeated Daniel "Big Dan" Manasoiu via unanimous decision

Lucas Protasio defeated Pedro Maia via unanimous decision

João Zeferino defeated Bruno Antonietta via triangle armbar (R3 2:45)

Zayed Alkatheeri defeated Oziel Santos via unanimous decision

Seilkhan Bolatbek defeated Fernando Santos via heel hook (R1 1:58)