In the buildup to the Abu Dhabi Combat Club's 2015 Submissions Wrestling World Championship, Bloody Elbow looks back on some of the most interesting moments in the promotions history. In this edition we look at Chris Weidman's emergence as a prodigy at ADCC 2009.

Barcelona, Spain. September 26, 2009. A brash young American steps confidently on to the mats of the ADCC world championships. Hofstra wrestler Chris Weidman stands shirtless, clad only in a pair of Sprawl shorts. Young Weidman looks ready for battle but there is one obvious obstacle standing in front of him - world champion Andre Galvao.The auditorium looks on expecting an imminent submission for Galvao. Nobody believes in this unheard of rookie from New York, but today he is about to earn the respect of the grappling world.

Christopher James Weidman's path to the most prestigious grappling competition in the world was filled with upsets. Weidman was never meant to make it to ADCC but during the East Coast ADCC trials of 2009, Weidman pulled off the first upset of a career that would later be defined by winning when all the odds were against him. At the ADCC trials Weidman was met in the final by James Brasco, a Pablo Popovich prodigy. This was a match that Brasco was expected to dominate but Weidman persevered and sunk in a unexpected anaconda choke to earn himself a trip to Barcelona.

Despite Weidman submitting the highly experienced Brasco, few eyebrows were raised. In the opening round of ADCC 2009 the New Yorker met a Spaniard in his own back yard and dominated but still no one took notice. All that was about to change though, as soon the All-American wrestler turned MMA fighter was about to compete with the one and only Andre Galvao.

The match starts and immediately Andre Galvao is on the attack. The Brazilian submission specialist immediately entangles Chris Weidman in a omoplata and takes his back before locking in an armbar and the end is imminent, or so it would seem, but Weidman has other ideas. Weidman expertly defends Galvao's submission attempts and then begins to show the Brazilian just what an All-American can do.

Over the next 10 minutes, Weidman lands a variety of throws from the clinch, neutralizes Andre Galvao's deadly deep-half guard and begins to try for submissions of his own. Throughout the course of the match Weidman doesn't stall; he plays Galvao at his own game and for large portions of the fight he wins it. As the clock ticks down Galvao's experience kicks in and the Brazilian is able to squeeze out a points victory by passing Weidman's guard. While Andre Galvao may have won the battle, there really were no losers in the match-up.

Looking back at Weidman's trip to ADCC in 2009 is interesting. It is immediately apparent that even back then he had no fear - after all,with Galvao, he entered the belly of the beast and wasn't phased. Weidman, a 2-0 Ring of Combat fighter, a purple belt, went the distance with one of our generation's greatest submission artists. While Weidman would eventually be submitted by Vinny Magalhaes in the absolute division, his performance at ADCC was more than admirable.

Life after ADCC wasn't easy for Chris Weidman. In fact he was on the verge of retiring from MMA because of a broken hand but Weidman decided to persevere. After a year on the sidelines nursing his career-threatening injury, the All-American entered the cage once again at Ring of Combat 31 where he knocked out Uriah Hall in the first round.

A mere four years after his valiant performance in Barcelona, Weidman once again found himself a large underdog against a Brazilian world champion. And just like how he fought Galvao at his strengths at ADCC, Weidman fought Anderson Silva at his own game in the striking world and came out victorious. The rest is history.