UFC athletes do poorly at ADCC; Brazilians dominate competition

B. Henderson (left) meets with Vinny Pezão (right) in China. Photo: Twitter/Reproduction

UFC athletes had a discreet participation in the 2013 edition of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC), the main submission of the planet, this year held in China. On the other hand, Brazilian fighters, as usual, stood out, winning in all categories of the competition.

Among the names that make up the Ultimate squad, the one who did best was Ben henderson, former lightweight champion. The North American won his first fight, but ended up eliminating Otavio Souza in the quarterfinals. Executioner of Erick silva at UFC Barueri, South Korean Dong Hyun Kim didn't have the same luck and was submitted by Romulo Barral in the first round of the under-88 kg category. Recently fired by the organization, Vinny Pezão didn't go far either. The Brazilian lost to Jared Dopp in the second round of the over 99 kg division.

The year 2013 was only the second in history in which all divisions were won by Brazilians. Rubens “Cobrinha” won among athletes under 66 kg, kron gracie took the title in the under-77 kg category, Romulo Barral was the under-88 kg champion and Marcus “Bucheca” became champion in the over-99 kg division. Among women, there was also Brazilian hegemony. Michelle Nicolini won in the under 60kg category and Gabi Garcia in the over 60kg division.

Furthermore, Roberto Cyborg was the winner in the absolute and will face André Galvão in the superfight of the next edition of the ADCC, in 2015. Galvão secured his place in the next event by submitting Bráulio Estiva in this year's superfight. In 2015, ADCC arrived in Brazil for the second time in its history. The headquarters will be the Amazonian capital Manaus. Previously, in 2003, São Paulo hosted the competition.

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