BJJ Academies in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi is the UAE's BJJ capital — and the city that put modern grappling on the world map. The Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) was founded in 1998 by HH Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with the first ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship held in Abu Dhabi that March. The UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF) was established in November 2012 in Abu Dhabi under HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's patronage.

The Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship is held annually at Mubadala Arena, Zayed Sports City — the 17th edition in November 2025 drew roughly 10,000 athletes from 130+ countries. Jiu-jitsu has been part of Abu Dhabi public-school curriculum since 2008; Palms Sports (ADX:PALMS), the publicly-listed company running the School Jiu-Jitsu Program, reported 59,000+ students across 125 schools in 2022/23.

Major Abu Dhabi academies include Palms Sports / Team 777 (the federation's competition club) and Commando Group, recent Abu Dhabi World Pro and World Masters medal-table leaders.