The Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championship is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious events in the world of submission grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Founded in 1998 by Sheik Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ADCC World Championship stars many of the most gifted grapplers from around the world jostling for supremacy across a host of weight divisions.

One of the most eagerly anticipated aspects of the ADCC World Championship is the “Superfight”. This is a special match between two elite grapplers in a showcase of skill and technique. The Superfight usually pits recent champions of the absolute title with the reigning Superfight champion.

In this year’s case, defending champ Gordon Ryan will lock horns with absolute title winner Yuri Simoes. The Rio-born 33-year-old won his first ADCC medal nine years ago and has made huge progress in the world of MMA since. In December 2023, Simoes was entered into the UFC Fight Pass Invitational against Nick Rodriguez.

While Simoes ultimately fell short on points, his foray into UFC showcased his versatility and raised his profile in the combat sports world. The UFC is comfortably the most commercially successful MMA franchise and the most popular to watch and bet on worldwide. FanDuel Sportsbook has a dedicated section to UFC betting markets. This is one of the most popular US-licensed online sportsbooks today according to Oddschecker, which is a leading iGaming comparison portal explaining how and where to claim referral bonuses, as well as reviewing the platforms themselves.­

When did the Superfight series begin?

The first ADCC Superfight Series was in 1999, just 12 months after the ADCC World Championship was established. At the time, the ADCC World Championship was an annual thing. It wasn’t until 2001 when the event became a biannual championship. In truth, this has helped to raise the anticipation and profile of the Superfight series.

Mario Sperry won the inaugural absolute title in 1998 and Sperry’s hand-picked opponent was Enson Inoue. Sperry ran out a comfortable win to kick off the 1999 ADCC World Championship.

Inoue’s selection started the tradition of the absolute title winner locking horns with the reigning Superfight champ. The 1999 absolute division winner, Roberto Traven, went on to face Sperry in the 2000 Superfight Series and the rest is history.

The most memorable ADCC Superfights so far

The 2001 Superfight series was one of the most memorable for several reasons. Mark Kerr was one of the most physically domineering grapplers of his era. Nicknamed the “Smashing Machine”, Kerr locked horns with Sperry and overcame the Brazilian in an intense encounter.

Sperry returned in 2011 to face Renzo Gracie, regaining the absolute title in the process. As for Kerr, the American had won the absolute (+99kg) division in successive years in 1999 and 2000, so Superfight success was the next natural step for him to take. Somewhat surprisingly, Kerr lost the Superfight in 2003 against the “Brazilian Tiger”, Ricardo Arona.

Andre Galvao landed the 2013 Superfight title against Braulio Estima and in 2015 he successfully defended the title in a gruelling encounter with Roberto “Cyborg”. Galvao eventually came through the contest with a points decision. It was a landmark win considering the likes of Arona, Dean Lister, Roger Gracie, Ronaldo Souza and Estima failed to keep hold of their Superfight title in previous ADCC World Championships.

In fact, Galvao made history at the 2017 ADCC, held in Finland, as he defended his superfight title for a second successive year. It was the manner of his win in 2017 which grabbed the headlines. His 14-0 victory over Claudio Calasans cemented him as an all-time great.

Remarkably, Galvao would go on to defend his Superfight crown again in 2019 against Felipe Pena. He was inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame in 2021 and eventually lost his Superfight title in 2022 to Gordon Ryan via rear-naked choke. The 2024 ADCC World Championships are in Las Vegas, to be staged at the iconic T-Mobile Arena, the venue for so many iconic UFC cards through the years