Perhaps the most prestigious grappling tournament in the world -- the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) -- recently rounded out its Submission Wrestling World Championships 65.9 kg weight class by adding former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber, according to GracieMag.com.
"The California Kid" joins Strikeforce women's champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (+60kg), Luanna Alzuguir (-60kg) and Gregor Gracie (-77kg) as newly-announced participants for the September event.
The ADCC championships are hosted every two years in different locations, with the 2009 tournaments taking place in Barcelona, Spain from September 25-27 at the Pavelló Municipal Esports de Badalona. The competition is designed to crown the top grappling and submissions fighters in the world.
The rules are pretty simple. The object is to submit your opponent with either a choke, an arm lock (shoulder, wrist, arm, etc.) or a leg lock (knee, ankle, etc.)
Each qualifying match is 10 minutes long with the championship in each division being 20 minutes. If at the end of that time there is not a finish by submission, the match will be judged on a point system. If the score is tied there will be a 5 minute overtime period. If the score is still tied after that, the winner will be decided by a judge's decision.
The point system is similar to any other grappling tournament. Takedowns are worth either 2 or 4 points, 4 if the fighter scoring the takedown lands past the guard. When on the ground, obtaining the full mount position is worth 2 points. Taking your opponents back with hooks will get you 3 points. Passing your opponents guard scores 3 points. A knee on your opponents stomach gets you 2 points, and clean sweeps equal 4 points.
This will be Faber's second time competing in the ADCC championships -- and his encore performance will not be any easier. The other 15 competitors in the 66 kg and under division will include reigning champion and WEC veteran Rani Yahya, Jeff Curran, Kouhei Yasumi, Rafael Mendes, Nicolas Renier, Timo-Juhani Hirvikangas, Ryan Hall, David Marinakis, Jayson Patino, Leo Viera, Rubens Charles, Baret Yoshida, Jeff Glover, Hiroshi Nakamura and Justin Rader.
The list of winners coming out of the other divisions in the 2007 championships, which were held in New Jersey, include Robert Drysdale, Fabricio Werdum, Alexandre Ribeiro, Demian Maia, and Marcelo Gracie. Fedor Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi and other top mixed martial artists have long been rumored to be participating in this event as well.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on the ADCC as it's announced.