Five years after former UFC champion and Hall of Famer Matt Hughes and PRIDE FC legend Renzo Gracie met for the first time, they will meet again – but this time under submission wrestling rules at the 2015 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship event. The fight has been announced almost a year ago. Now, a date and location have been set.
According to ADCC official Elefterios Magiropoulos, this year’s ADCC event will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil from August 28 – 30 (via MMA Fighting). Besides the Hughes vs. Gracie bout, the event will feature two more superfights: One between American Top Team coach Ricardo Liborio and PRIDE veteran Mario Sperry, and one between last year’s ADCC absolute class winner Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu and multiple world champion and Strikeforce veteran Andre Galvao.
Of course, the big world championship tournament is also on tap, including grappling superstars such as Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, Rubens Charles “Cobrinha”, Kron Gracie or Gabi Garcia, who all captured gold in 2013.
The ADCC world championships are the most prestigious submission wrestling tournament in the world. The format is being held every two years, last time in Beijing, China. This will mark the second time, the ADCC championships are taking place the motherland of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Originally, this year’s edition was scheduled for Manaus, Brazil, but the promotion decided to move the event to Sao Paulo, where it was held once before in 2003.
Matt Hughes and Renzo Gracie are both ADCC veterans.