The ADCC Founding

The Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Wrestling World Championship was created in 1998 by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE, who was himself a dedicated BJJ practitioner. Unlike IBJJF competitions, ADCC focused entirely on no-gi grappling, with a ruleset designed to encourage takedowns, positional control, and submissions.

ADCC quickly became the most prestigious no-gi tournament in the world, attracting the best grapplers from wrestling, sambo, judo, and BJJ. Winning an ADCC title became one of the highest honors in submission grappling, and the event’s influence continues to shape the evolution of modern no-gi competition.