ADXC 3 is scheduled for March 2nd, 2024 and we’ve conducted a full preview of all of the gi and no gi matches that are taking place on this stacked lineup. The Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship is still in it’s early days but they’ve managed to put together some brilliant matchups on each and every one of their events so far, and this is no exception. This third event marks the first time that they’ve ventured outside of Abu Dhabi, as it will be hosted in Brazil instead. This means that there’s a heavy presence of Brazilian competitors in the lineup, alongside several other elite grapplers from all around the world.
ADXC 3 Full Lineup Preview
As always with their events, ADXC 3 features a pair of main event matches and a pair of co-main event matches. There will also be a total of five matches on the main card and five on the preliminary card we’ll be looking over in this preview of ADXC 3 too, making for a long night of elite grappling action.
Bruno Lima vs Jansen Gomes – Gi
Bruno Lima is coming into this match on good form after winning the Abu Dhabi World Pro at the end of 2023 and his most recent loss came by the narrowest of margins against one of the best competitors on the planet, Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa. He is coming up against another phenomenal competitor in Jansen Gomes though, who spent 2023 establishing himself as one of the best gi grapplers in the world. Gomes put in the biggest performance of his career last year when he beat both Tye Ruotolo and Tainan Dalpra to win the IBJJF World Championship, and he should be able to beat Lima too if those matches are anything to go by.
Beatriz ‘Bia’ Mesquita vs Jennifer Maia – No Gi
Jennifer Maia is a UFC veteran and although she has shown herself to be a solid grappler under the MMA ruleset, professional grappling is a whole other beast. She’s taking on a huge challenge by facing Beatriz ‘Bia’ Mesquita too, as she’s one of the most successful female BJJ competitors of all time. Mesquita has won pretty much everything she can over the course of her career, including several IBJJF World Championship gold medals and an ADCC title. Maia will no doubt be a game opponent but Mesquita is expected to run away with this match and get the submission win.
Fellipe Andrew vs Rayron Gracie – Gi
Rayron Gracie might have the most famous surname in the sport but Fellipe Andrew is undoubtedly the more feared competitor at this stage in their respective careers. Gracie hasn’t really been tested at this level yet as he was promoted to black belt less than a year ago, and has only had a handful of matches since then. Andrew on the other hand has established himself as one of the best in the world by winning both the Abu Dhabi World Pro and the IBJJF World Championship last year. Although it’ll be interesting to see where Gracie stands against the best competition around, the odds are heavily in Andrew’s favor here.
Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu vs Henrique ‘Ceconi’ Cardoso – No Gi
Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu has not been particularly active against the highest level of competition across the last year, and in fact the only matches he’s had against elite competitors at his weight have been losses recently. Henrique ‘Ceconi’ Cardoso has actually had a similar level of success lately too, making this match difficult to predict in this preview of ADXC 3. Abreu has still reached much higher levels of performance in the past though, and he should be able to use his advantage in experience to see him through to victory.
Main Card
Gutemberg Pereira vs Pedro Lucas – Gi
Gutemberg Pereira has been a top contender for quite a while now anyway but he will be riding a huge wave of momentum after the way he started 2024, winning double gold at the IBJJF European Championship. His opponent is Pedro Lucas, who has been pretty impressive in his first few years as a black belt. Lucas generally sticks to competing in Brazil though, so he hasn’t faced most of the top competitors in his weight class. He may very well spring a surprise on Pereira, but the most likely outcome is that Pereira wins.
Jonnatas Gracie vs Levi Jones-Leary – No Gi
Jonnatas Gracie has had some huge wins over the likes of Oliver Taza and Nicky Ryan in the last year and he’s always a tough opponent thanks to his rapid pace and ability to win most scrambles. His opponent will be one of Australia’s most talented competitors, Levi Jones-Leary. It’s been quite some time since Jones-Leary was able to stand on top of the podium at a major event, but he’s still an elite grappler who can cause trouble for anyone. This should be a close match with plenty of action, but Gracie is the one with the better performances lately and he has the slight edge.
Julia Alves vs Ana Schmitt – Gi
Julia Alves is an incredibly talented young competitor who has already managed to register some big wins despite still being very early in her career. Continuing the theme of young contenders being matched against veterans, Alves’ opponent is former IBJJF World Champion Ana Schmitt. Although Schmitt has managed to achieve more in the past, Alves is one of the top competitors in her weight class right now. It’ll be a tough match but Alves is the one we’re predicting to win in this preview of ADXC 3.
Fabricio Andrey vs Ruan Alvarenga – No Gi
This has all the makings of a classic match and will likely end up being the most entertaining match on the whole card, as both Fabricio Andrey and Ruan Alvarenga are known for their exciting styles. The two men have actually met on the mats before and Alvarenga holds a submission win over Andrey from that meeting back in 2021. That was not long after either of them had been promoted to black belt though and a lot has changed since then. Namely that Andrey has been incredibly active and established himself as one of the top competitors in the lighter weight classes. This is unpredictable because of how their styles match up, but we’re picking Andrey to come out on top after an exhausting match.
Samuel Nagai vs Israel Almeida – Gi
Samuel Nagai is on a great run, having won both the IBJJF World Championship and The Crown at featherweight last year. His opponent is Israel Almeida and although Almeida didn’t manage to reach the same heights as Nagai in 2023, he was able to put in some great work on the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam circuit. Almeida is actually one of the few people to submit Nagai though, as he locked up a choke in the semi-final of the IBJJF Pan Championship last year. Almeida might be able to repeat that victory but Nagai should be able to excel in the ADXC format and get revenge.
Preliminary Card
Dan Manasoiu vs Pedro Alex – No Gi
Pedro Alex is a fantastic competitor and he’s gotten some impressive wins in recent years, beating some of the best grapplers around like Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu and Roberto Jimenez. The problem is that Dan Manasoiu presents one of the most unique challenges in the sport, as he’s naturally far bigger than the majority of competitors. That makes him difficult to prepare for and difficult to deal with on the mat, although he did lose his most recent match to Max Gimenis at Pit Submission Series 1. If Alex can control the match early then he might win, but otherwise Manasoiu should be able to earn the decision win.
Lucas Protasio vs Pedro Maia – Gi
Lucas Protasio already holds a win over Pedro Maia from an IBJJF Open event back in 2022 but it was by the thinnest of margins, as neither man was able to score a point during the match. They’re both right at the top of their weight class, as Protasio and Maia won silver medals at the Abu Dhabi World Pro and the IBJJF World Championship respectively last year. Protasio has been able to win more of his matches historically though, and he would be the safest bet to win in this preview of ADXC 3 too.
Joao Zeferino vs Bruno Antonietta – No Gi
This is one of the more unusual matches in this preview of ADXC 3, as both men have experience grappling with strikes involved. Joao Zeferino is a UFC and PFL veteran who has had over 30 professional MMA fights, winning 17 of them by submission. Bruno Antonietta on the other hand is a former competitor in the Combat Jiu-Jitsu world championship and has more experience competing in professional grappling in general. It should be a close match and it could go either way, but Zeferino might just be able to do enough to win.
Zayed Alkatheeri vs Oziel Santos – Gi
Zayed Alkatheeri is a great grappler and he made history last year as the first UAE athlete to win an IBJJF major, securing his place in the history books. He continued that form throughout the year too and although he couldn’t add another gold medal to his tally, he is likely gearing up for an even bigger year in 2024. Oziel Santos is a solid opponent and he definitely has what it takes to win if things go his way, but Alkatheeri should be able to take the win.
Fernando Santos vs Seilkhan Bolatbek – No Gi
Seilkhan Bolatbek is an interesting prospect, as the BJJ purple belt has already had some experience on huge stages by competing at the AIGA Champions League. This is a huge opportunity not only for him to reach more people but also to test himself against a newly-promoted black belt. Fernando Santos has had plenty of success on his journey through the belt ranks so he should be able to beat Bolatbek, but it’ll be interesting to see if the young competitor can cause an upset.
The full ADXC 3 event, including every match in the above preview, is available to watch live on March 2nd, 2024 on TX7 Sports.