Ruleset
ADCC
The most prestigious no-gi ruleset: negative points for stalling, points only in the second half, and every submission legal.
How the ruleset works
The Abu Dhabi Combat Club ruleset is built to force action. Matches split into halves: no points in the first half (submission attempts only), then takedowns, passes, and dominant positions score in the second. Guard pulling costs a negative point once scoring starts, and stalling is penalized directly.
Every submission is legal, including heel hooks and slams inside limits, which makes ADCC the proving ground for complete no-gi games. Overtime extends the match rather than switching format, and referee decisions weigh aggression heavily.
The World Championship runs every two years and is widely treated as the sport's most prestigious no-gi title.
At a glance
- Attire
- No-Gi
- Format
- No points first half, points second half
- Overtime
- Extra time, then decision
- Time limit
- 10-40 min by round/division
- Submissions
- Everything legal
What wins under ADCC rules
Most active under ADCC rules
Alexandre Ribeiro
41 matches
Vagner Rocha
40 matches
André Galvão
34 matches
Roberto Abreu
34 matches
Oliver Taza
30 matches
Marcelo Garcia
30 matches
Felipe Pena
29 matches
Vinicius Magalhães
28 matches
Rafael Lovato Jr
27 matches
Pablo Popovitch
26 matches
Rankings across every ruleset live on the stats page and the BJJ Elo rankings.
Biggest ADCC events
Match records
| Fighters | Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco Retamozo Montesinos | def. | IGNACIO ZAVALA | Submission | 2025 ADCC Lima Open | |
| Kaleb Wats | def. | Sage Diguiseppe | Submission | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Marco Miranda | def. | Joey Panetta | Submission | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Charley Jiang | def. | Kaleb Wats | Submission | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Matthew Velez | def. | Nieko Malone | Submission | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Efrain Garcia | def. | Marco Miranda | Points | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Renan Quintanilla | def. | Andrew Than | Submission | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Efrain Garcia | def. | Diamond Armello | Submission | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| James Comerford | def. | Dominic Blanco | Submission | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Matthew Velez | def. | Charley Jiang | Points | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Renan Quintanilla | def. | Efrain Garcia | Points | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Marco Miranda | def. | Efrain Garcia | Submission | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| James Comerford | def. | Efrain Garcia | Decision | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Matthew Velez | def. | Renan Quintanilla | Points | ADCC New Jersey Open 2025 | |
| Emme Annie Bringeland | def. | Приліпко Анастасія | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Roman Sekereš | def. | Mohamed Moussa | Dq | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Amit Burshtein | def. | Joe Moreira | Points | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Veeti Miikki | def. | Roman Sekereš | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Jalol Mamadalibekov | def. | Dmytro Petrishchev | Points | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Artur Gherghilinic | def. | Wiktor Dulemba | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... |
