The Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championships are set to return to Las Vegas in 2024, hosted at the T-Mobile Arena.
The 2024 ADCC event will maintain the traditional two-day format and offer two-day passes for spectators.
Assigned seating will be introduced, improving the spectator experience compared to the previous event in 2019.
ADCC has typically rotated host countries every two years, but it has remained in the United States since 2019.
Mo Jassim, ADCC organizer, mentioned the enhanced revenue potential of domestic events, emphasizing the importance of selling high-priced tickets and attracting sponsors.
Gi grappling’s slower pace and complex rules were noted as potential factors in its waning popularity in contrast to the more appealing no-gi format, which has gained a larger fan base.
In the same interview with Luke Thomas, he also elaborated on the ADCC’s stance toward PED use.
The ADCC does not perform testing on competitors, a controversial policy that regularly draws criticism. Jasim explained the prohibitive costs and dubious effectiveness as reasons not to test athletes.
“I understand why people don’t like it, but it is what it is. It’s not high on my list,” Jasim stated. He argued athletes can circumvent even rigorous testing, making it an exercise in futility. Jasim also believes the lack of testing allows ADCC to showcase extremely gifted and muscular athletes.
The ADCC does not perform PED testing on competitors, a controversial policy that regularly draws criticism. Jasim explained the prohibitive costs and dubious effectiveness as reasons not to test athletes.
“I understand why people don’t like it, but it is what it is. It’s not high on my list,” Jasim stated. He went into more detail on why ADCC does not test:
“My issue with the IBJJF testing models, apparently they only test the champions. So how do you know that the other podium people aren’t on this stuff? Generally speaking, ADCC has never dr*g tested. It’s not even on my radar. And I understand that a lot of people get upset about it and I understand where they’re coming from. “
“But for me, do I think that some of these athletes are on? Yeah, I do. I mean, you can see these body transformations when it comes to ADCC worlds. And I think it’s a very valid criticism. But for me, it’s not on the top of my list. I do think people have ways of passing these tests. I’m on TRT myself and I do know some people who told me straight up how they pass these tests. Some of these compounds are out of your system in 48 hours. “
“And the other thing is it’s very costly to do dr*g testing. I saw the UFC posted it. I think they were paying nearly $1,000 a test. In my opinion, the only effective way to dr*g test is random d**g testing when it’s unannounced or they show up to your house or gym. For me to go and do that for 105 athletes across the world, that would be very cost prohibitive and be a nightmare headache for me. So I understand why people don’t like it, but it is what it is. It’s not high on my list.”
He argued athletes can circumvent even rigorous testing, making it an exercise in futility. Jasim also believes the lack of testing allows ADCC to showcase extremely gifted and muscular athletes, which he believes is a unique selling point.
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