Abu Dhabi: In a night of 14 high-level Jiu-Jitsu and MMA matchups, USA’s Urijah Faber and Brazil’s Rayron Gracie emerged champions of the fifth Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship (ADXC) at the Mubadala Arena on Friday. Faber took home the No-Gi trophy and Gracie went home with a flag.
Faber showed his stamina by defeating Brazil's Bibiano Fernandez, nearly 20 years after their first meeting in MMA.
Faber, who used his wrestling background to stop Fernandez's attacks, worked better from above, putting pressure on the opponent's guard. The Brazilian had some good moments, making a few tackles and sweeps, but Faber's technique won the day.
In the end, the American fighter conquered the ADXC cage by unanimous decision. After the fight, Faber emphasized his respect for his rival and praised the Abu Dhabi event.
“I love Fernandez. This guy changed the lives of so many athletes during his career, and it’s hard to see him go,” Faber said. “I loved being back in the cage fighting. If you’re looking for something that will change your life, look into martial arts. Abu Dhabi is doing the right thing by investing in something like Jiu-Jitsu.”
Gracie gave Marcos Carozino a hard time in his debut, earning his second straight win at ADXC, once again by submission.
Gracie started the fight well defending his opponent's attacks. After Carozino tried to tackle, Gracie applied an unusual choke and forced his rival to tap out. Afterwards, Gracie paid tribute to his uncle Renzo Gracie, a famous mixed martial artist who was in his corner during the fight.
“I know everything is going well when my uncle is around,” Gracie said. “I got the first loop choke, but Carozino got out of it really well. The guillotine he put on me was really tight, but I knew he was going to give it his all, so I was able to defend and recover. Five minutes into the fight, my uncle told me to use the corner choke with about 40 seconds left in the round.”
In the second main grappling match, American Chad Mendes defeated Brazil's Diego Brando by unanimous decision. Mendes led the fight throughout, controlling his opponent's head in the stand-up fight, applying good tackles, and defending well.
The other main event was a very technical and balanced affair, with Portugal's Pedro Ramalho narrowly defeating Sweden's Max Lindblad by split decision to take the title. With similar fighting styles, the contenders traded grips and strikes while defending dangerous positions. Ramalho stood out with his excellent sweeps and was particularly dangerous on the feet. Lindblad's standout moment was a footlock attempt that put him on top. But in the end, Ramalho's consistency paid off.
In addition to the four main matches, 10 other matches made ADXC 5 even more exciting. In the opening match, UAE's Balqees Al-Hashmi dominated against Russia's Maria Odintsova. Al Hashmi used her guard to the fullest to maintain control throughout, landed some promising attacks, and used positional control to pressure her opponent. Al-Hashmi won by unanimous decision.
Another Emirati fighter also won on home turf, with Omar Al-Suwaidi defeating Samuel Marquez by unanimous decision, with Al-Suwaidi maintaining a high pace and dominating the fight.
Iranian fighter Fuya Rahmani showed off another impressive display of strength and skill in the ADXC cage, taking Hamdi Abdelwahab by the single leg takedown, grabbing his back, reaching out to the crowd, and then pushing Abdelwahab under the neck and choking him to secure the win.
Tunisian fighter Amine Boudina was defeated by Brazil's Davi Betoracchi. Betoracchi attacked from the start with a dangerous flying triangle, then transitioned into an armbar attempt that Boudina defended. Later, Betoracchi faked a shoulder lock. When the Tunisian fighter spun around to escape, Betoracchi locked in the winning armbar.
Kazakhstan's 19-year-old Seilkhan Bolatbek won quickly against Netherlands' Emad Ahmedin, while Chinese fighter Xiaosong Shi lost to American fighter Abe “The Killer” Alsaghir in a fierce contest where Alsaghir used the cage to his advantage. Shi had some good moments, including a particularly well-executed guillotine attempt in the second round, but Alsaghir kept the pressure on to win by unanimous decision.
