UFC vet Muhammad Mokaev loses upset to short notice opponent at ADXC 6

Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship 6 (ADXC 6) is in the books, which provided both gi and no gi action from a card that had a mix of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and mixed martial arts (MMA) stars.

Two UFC veterans headlined the event, and it saw undefeated fighter Muhammad Mokaev get upset by Rogerio Bontorin, who stepped in on extremely late notice. Mokaev was originally supposed to face Raul Rosas Jr., but that match up was supposedly blocked by the UFC.

Bontorin upsets Mokaev on short notice, Bellator champ Patchy Mix wins at ADXC 6

Muhammad Mokaev tried a flying submission and jumped a guillotine early, with both ill-advised attempts leading to him conceding top position in each of the first two rounds. Those proved to be costly as the match ended up in a split decision.

Mokaev shot for numerous takedowns throughout the contest, but apart from a few scrambles, Bontorin largely neutralized his wrestling game. Bontorin also managed to stay on top on the very few ground exchanges late in the match to secure the upset victory.

It wasn’t the most eventful grappling affair, with barely enough time even spent on the mat, but Bontorin managed to impress after flying across the globe in just a couple of days’ notice.

In one of the other key matches, Bellator champion Patchy Mix came close to a rare Scottish twister, but Kairat Akhmetov somehow managed to survive the painful attempt. Mix also did get mount position a couple of times, leading to a comfortable decision win over the former ONE champion.

In the featured gi match, BJJ world champ Jansen Gomes went 2-0 in ADXC after winning a pretty entertaining and clear decision over Uanderson Ferreira. He had a couple of nice submission attempts and some clean takedowns, even using the fence really well for a pure gi competitor.

Also on the card was another battle of MMA vets, with Jussier Formiga taking a decision over Tagir Ulanbekov.

For full results and highlights from ADXC 6, check here.

ADXC had a simple solution to gi problems, but too short rounds

Apart from booking all these MMA fighters, ADXC also holds their events in the cage, and uses a 10-point must system. I understand that they’re trying to appeal to the MMA fanbase, but I think that hosting grappling matches in just 3-minute rounds is a big mistake.

Without much time to work for a submission, it just badly hurt the entertainment value, and the card ended with eight straight decisions.

ADXC should really rethink this set up, as by the time someone actually did get in trouble, the round was almost over and it was easier to stall — especially in the gi — until the final bell. Even white belts in normal BJJ competitions get five minutes straight, but these are high level black belts, who should at least get that much per round at the bare minimum.

Outside of that, ADXC did have a unique and simple solution to a common gi problem of BJJ belts always getting untangled. It seems minor and looks weird, but taping it prevented all those resets and goofy interventions, with referees tugging on belts while people are grappling.

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