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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guy Burshtein | def. | Konstantinos Katsampekis | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Jakub Pach | def. | Eduardo Rosario | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Tomas Votava | def. | Mateusz Raczkiewicz | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Paul Grönborg | def. | Olexiy Babenko | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Rayan Benjelloun | def. | Mansur Mukhtarov | Points | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Robert Delic | def. | Jakub Cegiełko | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Ivan Demydov | def. | Amit Burshtein | Decision | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Aaron Maher | def. | Patryk Domagała | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Jalol Mamadalibekov | def. | Veeti Miikki | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Artur Gherghilinic | def. | Guy Burshtein | Decision | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Tomasz Rudzki | def. | Krzysztof Figura | Decision | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Thomas Torgersen | def. | Szymon Kraczkowski | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Paul Grönborg | def. | Tomas Votava | Points | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Rayan Benjelloun | def. | Sebastian Kubinec | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Mohammad Ali | def. | Krzysztof Michalak | Points | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Marcin Ochonski | def. | Jacek Anc | Points | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Roland Karchava | def. | Arkadiusz Milewski | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Tomáš Odlevák | def. | Gabriel Falk | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Amit Burshtein | def. | Patryk Domagała | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Victor Gabriel | def. | Patricio Abeijón | Points | ADCC Asuncion Open 2025 |
