The inaugural edition of the championship takes place Oct. 20 at the Mubadala Arena in Zayed Sports City ABU DHABI: With less than a week until the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship (ADXC 1), Tarek Suleiman has revealed he “can’t wait to submit” former Venator FC Welterweight Champion and UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori, famously known as “The Italian Dream.” For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport The inaugural edition of the championship, organized in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro, is scheduled for Oct. 20 at the Mubadala Arena in Zayed Sports City. “I’m looking for a tough fight from him, and I can’t wait to submit him. My message to him is, let’s put on a great show,” he said. Suleiman, a Syrian mixed martial artist and a UAE Warriors powerhouse with 12 wins, six by submission, has formidable neck attacks. He started his MMA career with two amateur victories and currently holds a record of 12 wins, eight defeats, and one no-contest, with a remarkable 100 percent finish rate. He believes that his MMA background will give him an edge during the ADXC1. “ADXC is very close to MMA, and I believe I have an advantage over other jiu-jitsu athletes due to my ability to use the cage, footwork, cutting corners, and pinning them to the fence to my advantage, allowing me to take them down and gain an advantage. “I’m very excited about this event, it’s one of its kind. I love grappling; half of my MMA wins have come through submission,” he said. “There are a lot of big names on the card, so I’m pretty overwhelmed by how prestigious the card is. Looking forward to starting fight week and getting the ball rolling.” With only a few days left until the big fights, Suleiman is fully engaged in training and preparations. “Training has been great. I did my camp at Team Nogueira Dubai with coach Thiago Sa, who has a great No Gi game. I’m looking forward to putting what I’ve learned into practice,” he added. Suleiman said that when he had initially competed in jiu-jitsu, he did not know the rules and his opponents had an advantage over him. He is expecting the opposite scenario at the ADXC. “The advantage for us is being aggressive and knowing how to use the parameters of the cage. So, it’s exciting.” Suleiman said it was natural for an MMA athlete like him to move into grappling. “I think it’s a natural progression for my career to transition from MMA to grappling, which has always been my passion. I’ve been doing it for 15 years now, and I’ve been a black belt for three years. So, it’s a natural progression for me to jump in and test myself in this part of the game.”