With Gracie x Hughes, ADCC 2015 changes venue and will take place in São Paulo

Renzo (right) and M. Hughes (left) have a rematch from UFC 112 in the ADCC 2015 superfight. Photo: Reproduction

For the second time in history, the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC, the main grappling competition on the planet) will arrive in Brazil and, less than six months before it takes place, the event has a new venue: São Paulo (SP), which displaced Manaus (AM).

See too

Werdum travels to Russia and trains with the president of Chechnya

Video: Watch the best moments of Rafael dos Anjos' victory over Anthony Pettis

New champion, Dos Anjos leaves Anderson Silva behind in official UFC rankings

Rafael dos Anjos reveals provocation to Pettis during fight: 'The show is over, beast'

The highlight of the program is the superfight between the legendary Matt hugs, former UFC welterweight champion, and Renzo Gracie, former ADCC champion himself. Hughes and Renzo have faced each other before, but in MMA. The duel took place at UFC 112, in Abu Dhabi, and was won by the North American by technical knockout.

The information was confirmed by the president of the event, Elefterios Magiropoulos, in an interview with the “Graciemag” website. According to Magiropoulos, logistical issues were decisive in moving the tournament from Amazonas to the capital of São Paulo. “Manaus is a large Brazilian capital, and welcomed us to two major events: the Brazilian Regional and the Regional Selective for the ADCC. However, for logistical reasons, we chose to hold ADCC 2015 in São Paulo. The city has already hosted major fight events and the ADCC is very happy to bring together its stars in the capital of São Paulo”, he commented.

So far, the name of the gym that will host the competition, which takes place between the 28th and 30th of August, has not been announced. Big names in grappling, such as Rubens “Cobrinha”, kron gracie, Romulo Barral, Marcus “Buchecha” and André Galvão are expected to participate in the tournament. In addition, the superfight between multi-time jiu-jitsu champion and former PRIDE athlete José Mario Sperry and American Top Team academy leader Ricardo Libório has also been confirmed.

The Brazilian qualifiers for ADCC 2015 will take place next April and in two Brazilian cities: in Rio de Janeiro, at the Iate Clube Jardim Guanabara, on the 11th and 12th of April; and São Paulo, on April 18th and 19th, at the José Corrêa gymnasium, in Barueri, in the metropolitan region.