ADXC 2: Who won the grappling match between Aljamain Sterling and Chase Hooper?

A new promotion in the growing sport of submission grappling, ADXC, completed its biggest event featuring UFC fighters Aljamain Sterling and Chase Hooper.

In the main event, Sterling defeated Hooper by points at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The event streamed live on TX7 Sports.

Though Sterling last competed in MMA at bantamweight and Hooper fought as a lightweight, the matchup was contested under the ADXC rules at welterweight.

While it is not uncommon for UFC fighters to compete in grappling matches in between octagon appearances, the matchup received additional attention due to the result of Sterling's last grappling appearance. The former UFC champion controversially lost a decision to Kevin Dantzler at Fury Pro Grappling 8.

Sterling is now 2-1 in grappling events since his last octagon appearance at UFC 292. 'Funk Master' has also confirmed his next MMA fight, a featherweight debut against Calvin Kattar at UFC 300.

Hooper currently does not have a UFC fight booked, having just submitted Jordan Leavitt at UFC Vegas 82 to remain undefeated at lightweight.

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Aljamain Sterling rebounds with win after Fury Pro Grappling 8 disaster

Though Aljamain Sterling picked up the ADXC 2 win on Jan. 19, his venture into submission grappling has not been completely successful.

After losing his UFC bantamweight belt to Sean O'Malley, Sterling beat Mike Grundy at the Polaris 25 grappling event before losing to Kevin Dantzler at Fury Pro Grappling 8.

Sterling's performance against Dantzler caught the attention of MMA fans but faced criticism from the jiu-jitsu community.

Sterling contested the loss to Dantzler immediately, claiming the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace did "nothing." While some agreed with him, others, including UFC welterweighMatt Brown, felt that Sterling did not embrace the grappling aspect of the sport and approached the match as an MMA fight.

With the win in Abu Dhabi, Sterling will now likely return to MMA-specific training as he prepares to enter UFC 300 fight camp. Sterling has opened as a slight underdog to Calvin Kattar in his first UFC featherweight bout.