Davies is the first lightweight athlete to win double gold at the No-Gi World Championship, 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.
A member of Wales national judo team when she was a junior, Davies holds a black belt in both BJJ and judo.
Early life
Ffion Eira Davies was born on 18 January 1995 in Swansea, Wales.[7] She started playing rugby then switched to judo at the age of 8 starting competing extensively,[7] Davies became a Welsh and British Open judo champion in the junior division and was selected into the Welsh National Judo team.[4]
Career
Early career
After leaving judo during her teenage years Davies started MMA in 2013 alongside Brett Johns,[8] 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.[9]
In 2015, competing under Gracie Barra as a blue belt, she won her first European Championship in the Lightweight division.[10] After attending seminars of black belt Darragh O’Conail, Davies moved to Dublin, to start training at East Coast Jiu-Jitsu.[11] On 27 November 2018 O’Conaill promoted her to black belt.[7]
Black belt career
2018–2019: IBJJF World No-Gi Champion, European Champion, Pan Am Champion
At the 2019 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, she won Silver after submitting the tournament's favourite Bia Mesquita in the semi-final,[16] in what has been called "one of the most shocking upsets in jiu-jitsu history"[17] 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,[18] 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.[19] At the 2022 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship Davies won silver after being defeated by Nathalie Ribeiro in the final,[20] 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."[21]
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.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24]
2023: Second IBJJF World title
Davies competed in the women's under 66 kg Grand Prix at Polaris 23 on March 11, 2023.[25] Davies defeated Giovanna Jara in the opening round before being submitted by the eventual champion Elisabeth Clay in the semi-final.[26]
On March 26, 2023, Davies won a silver medal in the lightweight division of the 2023 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship.[27] On 4 June 2023, Davies won the IBJJF World Championship for the second time, in the lightweight division.[28][29]
Davies was booked to defend her WNO flyweight title against Jasmine Rocha at Who's Number One on August 10, 2023.[30] She won the match by unanimous decision and successfully defended the title.[31]
Davies won both the lightweight and the absolute division at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship 2023,[32] becoming the first European to win the absolute division and the first to win two gold medals at the same edition of the tournament.[33]
2024
Davies competed against Luana Pinheiro in the co-main event of ADXC 2 on January 19, 2024.[34] She won the match by submission in the first round.[35] Davies was then scheduled to defend her flyweight title against Amanda Alequin at Who's Number One 22 on February 9, 2024,[36] but she withdrew from the match due to undisclosed reasons.[37]
Davies defended her under 55 kg title against Brianna Ste-Marie at Polaris 27 on March 23, 2024.[38] She won the match by decision and retained her title.[39] She then competed in the main event of Subversion 5: Reign against Nikki Lloyd-Griffiths for the promotion's inaugural featherweight title on April 6, 2024.[40] She won the match by submission and became the champion.[41]
Davies faced Morgan Black in a bantamweight submission grappling match in the co-main event of ADXC 4 on May 18, 2024.[42][43] She won the match by submission.[44]
Davies was originally scheduled to compete in the 2024 ADCC World Championship, but she left in order to compete at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational on August 16 and 17, 2024 instead.[45] She faced Mackenzie Dern in a superfight after Dern also left the 2024 ADCC World Championship.[46] Davies won the match by submission with an armbar.[47]
Ffion Davies is a native Welsh speaker. In a 2020 interview she stated that she had previously been a vegetarian.[12]
Awards and honours
Jitsmagazine BJJ Awards 'Female Grappler of the Year (No Gi)' (2022)[60]
Jitsmagazine BJJ Awards 'Female Grappler of the Year (Gi & No Gi)' (2020)[61]
Notes
^Davies won both Lightweight[49] and Openweight divisions, becoming the lightest competitor ever to do so by beating the Super-Heavyweight Champion.[50]
