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. | Veeti Miikki | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Flavio Basta | def. | Junior Rodas | Submission | ADCC Asuncion Open 2025 | |
| Tomas Votava | def. | Sebastian Kubinec | Points | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Jorge Galindo | def. | Jorge Rodrigo Saavedra Hirmas | Submission | ADCC Asuncion Open 2025 | |
| Arkadiusz Milewski | def. | Gabriel Falk | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Johnnatan Silva | def. | Martin Leo | Submission | ADCC Asuncion Open 2025 | |
| Robert Delic | def. | Flavio Caponata | Other | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Francisco Ugas Aurich | def. | Flavio Basta | Submission | ADCC Asuncion Open 2025 | |
| Aaron Maher | def. | Ivan Demydov | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Victor Gabriel | def. | João Pedro Silva Carneiro | Points | ADCC Asuncion Open 2025 | |
| Daniel Portela | def. | Valerio Galiffa | Submission | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Patricio Benítez | def. | Federico Plaza | Points | ADCC Asuncion Open 2025 | |
| Artur Gherghilinic | def. | Jalol Mamadalibekov | Points | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| Jorge Galindo | def. | Matias Asencio | Points | ADCC Asuncion Open 2025 | |
| Lukasz Bilski | def. | Tomasz Rudzki | Other | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | |
| João Pedro Silva Carneiro | def. | Flavio Basta | Submission | ADCC Asuncion Open 2025 | |
| Niko Mikuliszyn | def. | Andrii Chernitskyi | Rear Naked Choke | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | Details → |
| Jack Sear | def. | Vladyslav Kryshevych | Gogoplata | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | Details → |
| Linus von Schrenk | def. | Giuseppe Lamanna | Points | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | Details → |
| Marlon Tajik | def. | Linus von Schrenk | Points | ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, And Af... | Details → |
