Mark Kerr

Abu Dhabi And Martial Arts?

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) consists of 7 states, termed emirates, which are located in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf.

The three most well-known emirates are Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi is the capital and second largest city. It is also the country’s center of political, industrial, and cultural activities.

One of the martial arts activities that has been gaining in international reputation is submission fighting.

Abu Dhabi and martial arts?

Sheik Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nayan who happens to be one the sons of the former President of the UAE, Sheik Zayed, has been the driving force in introducing martial arts to his home country.

While studying in the United States he started to learn more about grappling which led him to training in BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu).

A man with an open mind and an eagerness to learn, Sheik Tanoon also took up Russian Sambo, freestyle wrestling and Muay Thai in which he became an expert in all. A true mixed martial artist!

He sounds like our kind of guy!

After getting back to Abu Dhabi he immediately went about in creating a combat center to provide his people with the opportunity to study and learn more about martial arts. It was named the Abu Dhabi Combat Center or short ADCC.

The man of vision and action that the Sheik is, he introduced a tournament in which the world’s best and most famous grapplers and submission fighters would compete again each other.

This tournament is simply known as the ADCC World Submission Wrestling Tournament. It has become THE submission grappling event in the world and is being copied across the globe.

To give you an idea of the caliber of competitors who have fought at this tournament are for example Renzo Gracie, Royler Gracie, Mark Kerr, Tito Ortiz, Jean Jacques Machado, Rigan Machado, Rolles Gracie, Fabricio Werdum, Josh Barnett, Vitor Belfort, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, Roger Gracie, Dean Lister, Jake Shields and many more. Impressed? I certainly am.

Abu Dhabi And Martial Arts!