Today's Edition
Paris (Aletihad)
UAE’s first female fighter in the Abu Dhabi Extreme Challenge (ADXC) has made a winning debut in Paris at the fourth staging of the fast-growing popular format in mixed martial arts (MMA). Saturday night was also a double delight for the birth country of the ADXC with Khalid Al Shehhi also winning his fight.
After the initial two rounds of ADXC4 since its October beginning last year, the third one was held in the Brazilian city of Balneário Camboriú, but the Paris outing is more sweet with the two wins for the UAE coming at the host city for the upcoming Olympics in few months. Some of the best competitors from jiu-jitsu and grappling entered the cage and fought tooth and nail to become the newest champions born at the Dojo de Paris, in the capital of France.
Purple belts Shamma Al Kalbani and Lina Grosset opened the preliminary card with both experienced on the AJP Tour circuit. Even though 10 years younger against the home favourite, Al Kalbani has had some great wins at the belt level and she translated her promise into a win in Paris after a well-balanced fight.
The first round saw both athletes exchanging foot attacks while the following one brought a little more movement, with reversals and guard passing attempts. The third and final round saw Lina putting a lot of pressure from the top, but Shamma dished out some sneaky attacks. It was enough to convince the majority of the referees in giving her a split-decision victory.
In the Jiu-Jitsu Co-Main Event, Khaled Al Shehhi and Leonardo Mario found themselves evenly matched throughout the duel, which lasted five rounds of three minutes. Khaled started with a takedown, followed with a submission attempt and when that did not work, he used the single-leg to press Leonardo against the cage wall.
Leonardo applied his pressure on Khaled's guard, but the UAE powerhouse had a better run in the duel, using his technique to attack on top and even reach the side. When it was all said and done, Khaled had shown enough of his skills to convince the majority of the referees and conquer the title with a split decision.
In the Grappling Main Event, the long-awaited duel between UFC powerhouses Benoit Saint Denis and Marc Diakiese gave fight fans everything they were hoping for and then some. Fighting in his homeland of France, Benoit used his grappling prowess to control the flow of the battle and emerge victorious in the ADXC cage. The fight almost ended quickly, with Benoit going for a neck attack and almost submitting in the very first round, but Diakiese's top-notch defenses got him out of danger and kept the bout going, with many standing exchanges throughout the five rounds. But while Diakiese had some good moments, Benoit's pressure was simply too much and the "God of War" left another foe in the dust, taking the win by unanimous decision and driving the crowd at the Dojo de Paris insane with the victory of their local champion.
Meanwhile, Espen Mathiesen spared no effort and is now a two-time champion of the ADXC. Fighting in the Jiu-Jitsu Main Event against France's Leon Larman, the Norwegian athlete played to his strength and started the match by pulling and trying to use his berimbolo. Feeling the danger, Leon managed to avoid his opponent's collar grips, but Espen spun and ended up in the foot. Going for the de la riva guard, Espen managed to get a better grip and got to the back, with Leon defending against the hooks but falling prey to a collar choke still in the first round.
The Grappling Co-Main Event brought another victory for Wales' Ffion Davies in the ADXC. After sweeping from the closed guard and maintaining Morgan Black under complete pressure in the first round, Ffion finished the job in the following one. When the fighting started again, Ffion pulled Morgan into her guard, went up reaching the side, and quickly mounted, seizing her opponent's arm and landing the winning armbar with a little over a minute on the clock.
While the Main and Co-Main Events were amazing in their own right, the ADXC 4 still had many impressive battles in its card. Here’s how they went:
- Abdul-Kareem Al Sewady vs. Amin Ayoub
In another match-up between MMA athletes, Abdul-Kareem controlled the bout by putting pressure on Amin's guard throughout the first two rounds, even managing to mount in the third round. Amin tried to attack with a guillotine, but Abdul-Kareem managed to avoid any danger and conquered the referees, who unanimously decided in favor of the "Pride of Palestine".
- Cassio Silva vs. Marko Oikarainen
In an intense rematch from the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rome 2024, the French-based Brazilian Cassio Silva once again defeated Finland's Marko Oikarainen. With triangle, arm, and omoplata attacks, Cassio was the most dangerous competitor, even if Marko's solid defenses kept him safe and sound in all three rounds. At the end of the fight, Cassio tipped the scales even further in his favor with another dangerous attack, taking the win by unanimous decision.
- Nathiely de Jesus vs. Elizabeth Mitrovic
A very balanced duel between Nathiely and Elizabeth. With an active guard and dangerous sweep attempts, Eliza used her long legs to her favor against Nathiely, who used her experience and pressure from the top to control the duel. Being more active in the bout, Nathiely tried to take the back and even attacked the arm, convincing the referees and getting the win by unanimous decision.
- Nia Blackman vs. Magdalena Loska
A brown belt hailing from the UK, Nia Black showed her resolve as she sought to beat the Polish black belt Magdalena Loska. Starting with the upper hand after attacking with a loop choke and an omoplata, Magdalena kept herself active while Nia countered her foot attacks, with the latter almost taking the back on the second and third rounds. With better moves from the guard and almost taking the back, Nia convinced the majority of the referees and got the win via split decision.
- Steven Ray vs. Ibrahima Mane
In a duel between MMA veterans, Steven Ray proved himself an accomplished grappler. In the fight against Ibrahima, Steven had the best moves in the first and second rounds, going for foot and guillotine attacks. In the third round, with both fighters still standing, Steven set up another guillotine, took the fight to the ground, and got the submission with 2:05 on the clock.
- Youness Bennouali vs. Florian Bayili
A brown belt fighting in his home country of France, Youness had an interesting duel against the Belgian black belt Florian Bayili. Keeping steady on his feet, Youness controlled the match with some good takedowns and submission attempts following the takedowns. Meanwhile, Florian employed his guard from below, but by the time the match ended, Youness' stamina and techniques were enough to convince the majority of the referees, who gave him the win via split decision.
- Geovanny Martinez vs. Nicolas Renier
10th Planet's Geo Martinez used his grappling experience to make quick work of Nicolas Renier in the ADXC 4. The duel started with Geo pulling Nicolas into his closed guard and then quickly spinning around to reach the legs, locking a lightning-fast heel hook in just 27 seconds of the very first round.
- Kalim Mastouri vs. Luca Anacoreta
An intense match between Kalim and Luca heated up the Prelims. With both sides dishing out attacks throughout the three rounds of the duel, triangle chokes and leglocks were the name of the game here. One of the bout's highlights happened in the third round when Kalim took Luca down with a collar drag and almost took the back, with the latter narrowly escaping the position. At the end of it all, the referees unanimously declared Kalim the winner.
- Kasper Larsen vs. Alexander Alexandrov
Kasper Larsen maintained the pressure throughout the fight, using his weight and technique to attack Alexander's half-guard in the first two rounds. In the third round, after pushing Alexander against the cage wall, Kasper got Alexander down and quickly went for the back without the hooks, spinning below and entering a twister before locking the rear naked choke to take the victory.
By leveraging the opportunity provided by the presence of great talents in Europe, the ADXC technical committee sought to attract the best international names and fighters to provide an exciting experience for the audience.
