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Ffion Davies (born 18 January 1995) is a Welsh submission grappler, mixed martial artist and a world-champion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competitor. She is a multiple winner of the IBJJF World Championship, including the no-gi championship in 2023 in both the 61kg and absolute divisions.[7]
A member of Wales Judo National team when she was a junior, Davies holds a black belt in both BJJ and judo.
Davies is the first lightweight athlete to win double gold at the No-Gi World Championship. Davies is the first British/Welsh black belt world champion (in both Gi and No-Gi), the first European to win the Brazilian Nationals, the lightest-ever competitor to win the IBJJF European absolute division, and the first British/Welsh ADCC World Champion.
Early life
Ffion Eira Davies was born on 18 January 1995 in Swansea, Wales.[8] She started playing rugby then switched to judo at the age of 8 starting competing extensively,[8] Davies became a Welsh and British Open judo champion in the junior division and was selected into the Welsh National Judo team.[5]
Career
Early career
After leaving judo during her teenage years Davies started MMA in 2013 alongside Brett Johns,[9] Davies won her first four MMA fights by first round submission, then decided to focus on learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu; she trained under Chris Rees, the first Welsh black belt in jiu-jitsu, receiving her blue belt from him at his Academy in Swansea.[10] In 2015, competing under Gracie Barra as a blue belt, she won her first European Championship in the Lightweight division.[11] After attending seminars of black belt Darragh O’Conail, Davies moved to Dublin, to start training at East Coast Jiu-Jitsu.[12] On 27 November 2018 O’Conaill promoted her to black belt.[8]
Black belt career
2018–2019: IBJJF World No-Gi Champion, European Champion, Pan Am Champion
A month after receiving her belt, Davies won double gold at the Dublin International Open (Feather and Open Class) followed by gold at the World No-Gi Championship[13] becoming the first black belt from the UK to win that tournament.[14] At the start of 2019 she won the European Championship, the Polaris Grappling Invitational,[15] the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London, and then became Pan American Champion after winning Gold in California. A month later, Davies won the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship (known as Brasileiros) becoming the first European to win,[16] and then winning Bronze at the 2019 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (known as Mundials).
At the 2019 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, she won Silver after submitting the tournament's favourite Bia Mesquita in the semi-final,[17] in what has been called "one of the most shocking upsets in jiu-jitsu history"[18] she was invited to compete at the 2022 ADCC World Championship as a result. She returned to the UK to win the British National followed by the Berlin International Open Championship in November.
2020–2021: Third European and second World No-Gi championship titles
In 2020, Davies won double gold at the European Championship in the Lightweight division and in Open Class, beating the Super-Heavyweight Champion Jessica Flowers,[19] becoming the lightest grappler to win the European absolute division. After returning to the UK she won another Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London. In 2021, she won the World No-Gi championship for the second time in her weight division.[20] At the 2022 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship Davies won silver after being defeated by Nathalie Ribeiro in the final,[21] both competitors were praised for their sportsmanship following the match, after congratulating her opponent Davies posted: "We all have the same goal and will likely all have our moment. Don’t dull anyone else’s shine."[22]
2022: IBJJF World Champion, ADCC Submission Fighting World Champion
In early 2022, Davies started training at Essential Jiu Jitsu (an Atos affiliated academy), under the coaching of JT Torres.[23] In June 2022 Davies won the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the Lightweight division, becoming the first Welsh and British black belt jiu-jitsu world champion.[24] At the 2022 ADCC World Championship Davies became the first Welsh and British Submission Fighting world champion after submitting Adele Fornarino in the first round, defeating Bia Mesquita 6-0 in the semi-final, and Brianna Ste-Marie by a score of 10-0 in the final.[25]
2023: Second IBJJF World title
Davies competed in the women's under 66 kg Grand Prix at Polaris 23 on March 11, 2023.[26] Davies defeated Giovanna Jara in the opening round before being submitted by the eventual champion Elisabeth Clay in the semi-final.[27]
On March 26, 2023, Davies won a silver medal in the lightweight division of the 2023 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship.[28] On 4 June 2023, Davies won the IBJJF World Championship for the second time, in the lightweight division.[29][30]
Davies was booked to defend her WNO flyweight title against Jasmine Rocha at Who's Number One on August 10, 2023.[31] She won the match by unanimous decision and successfully defended the title.[32]
Davies won both the lightweight and the absolute division at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship 2023,[33] becoming the first European to win the absolute division and the first to win two gold medals at the same edition of the tournament.[34]
2024
Davies is due to compete against Luana Pinheiro at ADXC 2 on January 19, 2024.[35]
Davies is scheduled to defend her flyweight title against Amanda Alequin at Who's Number One 22 on February 9, 2024.[36]
Competitive summary
Main achievements at black belt level:[8]
- 2 x IBJJF World Champion (2022[24] / 2023[29])
- 2X IBJJF World No-Gi champion (2018/2021)[20]
- ADCC Submission Fighting World Champion (2022[37])
- 3X IBJJF European Open champion (2019/2020[lower-alpha 1])[16][40]
- 1X CBJJ Brazilian Nationals champion (2019)[41]
- 1X Pan American Championship champion (2019)[42]
- 2X UAEJJF Grand Slam winner, London (2019 / 2020)[43][44]
- 2nd place ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship (2019)
- 2nd place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro (2019)[45]
- British National IBJJF Jiu-jitsu Champion (2019)[46]
- 3rd place AJP Grand Slam LDN (2022[47])
Main Achievements (Coloured Belts):[8]
- 1X IBJJF World champion (2018 brown)
- 1X IBJJF World No-Gi champion (2016 purple)
- 1X IBJJF European Open champion (2015 blue, 2016 purple)
- 2X IBJJF European Open No-Gi champion (2018[lower-alpha 2] brown)[48]
- 1X ADCC European Trials champion (2018)
- 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2016/2017 purple)
- 2nd Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro (2018 brown)
- 2nd Place IBJJF European Open (2018 brown)
Instructor lineage
Royler Gracie → Saulo Ribeiro → (Alexandre Ribeiro) → Darragh O’Conaill → Ffion Davies[8]
Fight history
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Weight | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Elisabeth Clay | Toe hold | Polaris 23 | 66 kg | 2023 | ||
| Win | Giovanna Jara | Points | Polaris 23 | 66 kg | 2023 | ||
| Win | Bia Mesquita | Points | 2022 ADCC World Championship | -60kgs | 2022 | ||
| Win | Brianna Ste-Marie | Points | 2022 ADCC World Championship | -60kgs | 2022 | ||
| Win | Adele Fornarino | Choke | 2022 ADCC World Championship | -60kgs | 2022 | ||
| Win | V. Vieira | Armbar | 2022 Raw Grappling No. 2 | 2022 | |||
| Win | P. Ivette | Decision | SUBVERSIV 7 | 2022 | |||
| Win | R. Guedes | Decision | SUBVERSIV 7 | 2022 | |||
| Win | J. Flowers | Decision | SUBVERSIV 7 | 2022 | |||
| Win | V. Vieira | Bow and Arrow | 2022 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Lightweight | 2022 | ||
| Win | J. Maia | Points | 2022 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Lightweight | 2022 | ||
| Win | Margot Ciccarelli | Points | 2022 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Lightweight | 2022 | ||
| Win | K. Mikkelson | RNC | 2022 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Lightweight | 2022 | ||
| Win | Margot Ciccarelli | Armbar | 2022 Pan Jiu Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Lightweight | 2022 | ||
| Win | T. Monteiro | Decision | 2022 Pan Jiu Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Lightweight | 2022 | ||
| Loss | Nathalie Ribeiro | Points | 2022 Pan Jiu Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Lightweight | 2022 | ||
| Win | Margot Ciccarelli | Armbar | 2022 Pan Jiu Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Lightweight | 2022 | ||
| Win | P. Batista | Armbar | Grappling Industries Dublin | 150 lbs | 2021 | ||
| Win | K. Sheehan | Other | Grappling Industries Dublin | 150 lbs | 2021 | ||
| Win | Nathalie Ribeiro | Decision | FloGrappling WNO: The Return of Gordon Ryan | 2021 | |||
| Win | H. Sharp | Points | 2021 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship | Lightweight | 2021 | ||
| Loss | Gabrielle McComb | Triangle Arm Bar | 2021 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship | Absolute Division | 2021 | ||
| Win | N. Sullivan | Armbar | 2021 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship | Lightweight | 2021 | ||
| Win | T. Biagi | RNC | 2021 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship | Lightweight | 2021 | ||
| Win | Fernanda Mazzelli | RNC | 2021 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship | Lightweight | 2021 | ||
| Loss | T. Porfirio | Decision | Grapplefest 9 | Absolute Division | 2020 | ||
| Win | L. Campos | Advantage | 2020 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Absolute Division | 2020 | ||
| Win | C. Baumgarten | Choke From the Back | 2020 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Absolute Division | 2020 | ||
| Win | C. Baumgarten | RNC | 2020 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Lightweight | 2020 | ||
| Loss | J. Flowers | Points | 2020 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Absolute Division | 2020 | ||
| Win | P. Caiado | RNC | 2020 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Absolute Division | 2020 | ||
| Win | K. Hill | Armbar | 2020 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Lightweight | 2020 | ||
| Win | N. Sullivan | Points | 2020 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Lightweight | 2020 | ||
| Win | J. Maee | Armbar | 2019 IBJJF Dublin Open | Middleweight | 2019 | ||
| Win | J. Maele | Other | 2019 IBJJF Berlin Open | Absolute Division | 2019 | ||
| Win | C. Carriello | Armbar | 2019 IBJJF Dublin Open | Middleweight | 2019 | ||
| Win | Bia Mesquita | Armbar | 2019 ADCC World Championships | -60kgs | 2019 | ||
| Loss | Bianca Basilio | Toehold | 2019 ADCC World Championships | -60kgs | 2019 | ||
| Win | R. Yuasa | Points | 2019 ADCC World Championships | -60kgs | 2019 | ||
| Loss | N. Carriello | Points | 2019 Pantheon Invitational | 70kgs | 2019 | ||
| Win | J. Rivera | Armbar | 2019 Pantheon Invitational | 2019 | |||
| Win | A. Yanes | Other | 2019 Pantheon Invitational | 62kgs | 2019 | ||
| Win | J. Maele | Points | 2019 Pantheon Invitational | 62kgs | 2019 | ||
| Win | M. Loska | RNC | 2019 Pantheon Invitational | 2019 | |||
| Win | K. Kilarciyan | Choke From the Back | 2019 Pantheon Invitational | 62kgs | 2019 | ||
| Win | E. Karppinen | Decision | 2019 Pantheon Invitational | 2019 | |||
| Win | T. Alencar | Decision | Polaris 11 | Featherweight | 2019 | ||
| Loss | C. Perret | Guillotine | Fight 2 Win 114 | Bantamweight | 2019 | ||
| Loss | Bianca Basilio | Other | 2019 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Featherweight | 2019 | ||
| Win | Nathalie Ribeiro | Other | 2019 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Featherweight | 2019 | ||
| Win | A. Schmitt | Choke From the Back | 2019 Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Featherweight | 2019 | ||
| Win | N. Sullivan | Other | 2019 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship | 62kgs | 2019 | ||
| Win | K. Sung | Other | 2019 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship | 62kgs | 2019 | ||
| Loss | Bia Mesquita | Points | 2019 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship | 62kgs | 2019 | ||
| Win | Nathalie Ribeiro | Other | 2019 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Featherweight | 2019 | ||
| Win | K. Antunes | Other | 2019 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship | Featherweight | 2019 | ||
| Win | Gezary Matuda | Katagatame | Polaris 9 | 2019 | |||
| Win | Bianca Basilio | Points | 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London | 62kgs | 2019 | ||
| Win | S. Koikkalainen | Other | 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London | 62kgs | 2019 | ||
| Win | L. Paes | Points | 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London | 62kgs | 2019 | ||
| Win | C. Martin | RNC | GrappleFest 4 | 2019 | |||
| Win | G. Fechter | Other | 2019 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Featherweight | 2019 | ||
| Win | G. Fechter | Other | 2019 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Featherweight | 2019 | ||
| Loss | L. Montiero | Other | 2019 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Absolute Division | 2019 | ||
| Loss | J. Flowers | Knee Bar | 2018 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship | Absolute Division | 2018 | ||
| Win | H. Raftery | Armbar | 2018 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship | Featherweight | 2018 | ||
| Win | J. Santos | RNC | 2018 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship | Absolute Division | 2018 | ||
| Win | N. Soares | Triangle Arm Bar | 2018 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship | Featherweight | 2018 | ||
| Win | A. Nogueira | Points | 2018 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship | Featherweight | 2018 | ||
| Win | Claire-France Thévenon | RNC | 2018 IBJJF Dublin Open | Absolute Division | 2018 | ||
| Win | E. Tuukkanen | Reverse Triangle | 2018 IBJJF Dublin Open | Featherweight | 2018 | ||
| Win | A. Pérez | Choke From the Back | 2018 IBJJF Dublin Open | Absolute Division | 2018 | ||
| Win | D. Mindrinou | Bow and Arrow | 2018 AJP Tour Spain National Pro | 62kgs | 2018 | ||
| Win | L. Peretti | Other | 2018 AJP Tour Spain National Pro | 62kgs | 2018 | ||
| Win | P. Boveda | Other | 2018 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship | 62kgs | 2018 | ||
| Win | C. Baumgarten | Points | 2018 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship | 62kgs | 2018 | ||
| Loss | Bianca Basilio | Decision | 2018 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship | 62kgs | 2018 | ||
| Win | C. Leah | Armbar | Polaris 6 | 55kgs | 2018 | ||
| Loss | Bia Mesquita | Armbar | 2017 ADCC World Championships | -60kgs | 2017 | ||
| Loss | Talita Alencar | Choke | EBI 12 | 125 lbs | 2017 | ||
| Source[8] | |||||||
Personal life
Ffion Davies is a native Welsh speaker. In a 2020 interview she has stated that she's a vegetarian.[13]
Awards and honours
Notes
References
- ↑ "Ffion Davies ("The Honeybadger")". Tapology.
- ↑ "Ffion Eira Davies (@itsffionnotfiona) • Instagram photos and videos". Instagram.
- ↑ "Athlete Results Ffion Davies". Athlete Results. 22 February 1999.
- ↑ Burne, Kathrine (26 May 2023). "Ffion Davies Promoted To First Degree BJJ Black Belt". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- 1 2 "Ffion Davies – Power Passing". The Grapple Club.
- 1 2 3 4 "IBJJF Results".
- ↑ IBJJF 2023 World No-Gi Championship Results BJJ HEROES, December 9, 2023
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Ffion Davies". BJJ Heroes. 13 December 2018.
- ↑ Smith, Lewis (19 July 2019). "The pint-sized Welsh girl who can take down men twice her size". WalesOnline.
- ↑ MMA UK (April 2019). "Ffionomenal". mmauk.
- ↑ "2015 IBJJF Euros results". International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.
- ↑ Thévenon07, Claire-France. "Le phénomène Ffion Davies". jits.fr (in French).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - 1 2 Presley, Richard (17 March 2020). "Ffion Davies".
- ↑ "A New "Eira": Ffion Davies' Transformation From Talented Brown Belt To THE Black Belt To Beat at the World Pro". Jiu-Jitsu Times. 25 April 2019.
- ↑ "Welsh superstar Ffion Davies leads UK medal charge at IBJJF Euros 2020". Mynewsdesk. 2 February 2020.
- 1 2 "Results European Ibjjf Jiu-jitsu Championship 2019". ibjjfdb.
- ↑ "ADCC 2019 Results: Ffion Davies Breaks Bia's Arm". Grappling Insider. 29 September 2019.
- ↑ Raftery, Heather (9 December 2019). "IBJJF No-Gi Worlds Draws Record Number Of Women". FloGrappling.
- ↑ Lindsey, Alex (26 January 2020). "Euros 2020: Ffion Davies Becomes the Lightest Openweight Champion Ever". Grappling Insider.
- 1 2 "International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation -". www.ibjjfdb.com.
- ↑ "Nathalie Ribeiro wins battle against nemesis Ffion Davies". 12 April 2022.
- ↑ Wynne, Lucy (12 April 2022). "Nathalie Ribeiro Gets Gold at Pan Ams Against Ffion Davies". Grappling Insider.
- ↑ "Worlds Results, Mica Beats Ruotolo, Ffion Crowned First Brit Champ, And Doederlein Wins For USA". BJJ Heroes. 6 June 2022.
- 1 2 "World IBJJF Jiu-jitsu Championship 2022 results". IBJJF.
- ↑ "ADCC 2022 Live Results, Play-by-play, Analysis, Highlights, More". JitsMagazine. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ↑ Lindsey, Alex (18 December 2022). "Polaris Announces Under 66 kg Women's Grand Prix". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- ↑ "Polaris 23 Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- ↑ "IBJJF Pan Championship 2023 Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- 1 2 "International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation -". International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.
- ↑ "IBJJF World Championship 2023 Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ↑ Burne, Kathrine. "Ffion Davies To Defend Who's Number One Title Against Jasmine Rocha". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ↑ "Who's Number One 19: Nicholas Meregali v Kaynan Duarte Full Results And Review". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ↑ "IBJJF No Gi World Championship 2023 Full Results And Review". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ Phillips, Sabrina. "Ffion Davies Becomes First European To Win Double Gold At IBJJF No Gi Worlds". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ "ADXC 2 Full Lineup And Preview". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ↑ Blackett, Todd. "Ffion Davies To Defend Title Against Amanda 'Tubby' Alequin At Who's Number One 22". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ↑ Stein, Liam (17 September 2022). "Live Updates & Results – 2022 ADCC World Championships". FloGrappling.
- ↑ Newsroom, Graciemag. "Euros: Fellipe Andrew, Ffion Davies come out on top". graciemag.
- ↑ Lindsey, Alex (26 January 2020). "Euros 2020: Ffion Davies Becomes the Lightest Openweight Champion Ever". Grappling Insider.
- ↑ "Results European Ibjjf Jiu-jitsu Championship 2020". ibjjfdb.
- ↑ "Results Campeonato Brasileiro De Jiu-jitsu 2019". ibjjfdb.
- ↑ "Results Pan Ibjjf Jiu-jitsu Championship 2019". ibjjfdb.
- ↑ "Results London Grand Slam 2019". bjjheroes.
- ↑ "Results UAEJJF Grand Slam, LDN 2020". ajptour.
- ↑ "Results UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro 2019". uaejjf.
- ↑ "Results British National Ibjjf Jiu-jitsu Championship 2019". ibjjfdb.
- ↑ "Ffion Davies – Fighter profile". Abu Dhabi Jiu Jitsu Pro. 6 June 2022.
- ↑ "Results European Ibjjf Jiu-jitsu No-gi Championship 2018". Ibjjf.
- ↑ "The JitsMagazine 2022 BJJ Awards". January 2023.
- ↑ "The JitsMagazine 2020 BJJ Awards". 2 January 2021.