Ffion Davies

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Ffion Davies
BornFfion Eira Davies
(1995-01-18) 18 January 1995 (age 27)[1]
Nickname(s)The Honeybadger
ResidenceDublin, Ireland
NationalityWalesWelsh
Division
  • Gi Weight Classes
    • Featherweight

(under 58,50 kg / 129.0 lbs)

  • No-Gi Weight Classes
    • Featherweight

(under 56.5 kg / 124.5 lbs )

StyleBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu
TeamEast Coast Jiu-Jitsu Academy (ECJJA) Dublin
TrainerDarragh O Conaill
Rank
  •   black belt in BJJ
  •   black belt in Judo[2]
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Ffion Davies
Medal record
Representing  United Kingdom
Grappling
ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship
Silver medal – second place 2019 California, USA -60kg
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[3]
World Championship[3]
Bronze medal – third place 2019 California, USA -58.5 kg
Pan American Championship
Gold medal – first place 2019 California, USA -58.5 kg
European Championship[3]
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lisbon, Portugal -58.5 kg
Gold medal – first place 2020 Lisbon, Portugal -64 kg
Gold medal – first place 2020 Lisbon, Portugal Open
Brazilian National Championship[3]
Gold medal – first place 2019 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -58.5kg
World Nogi Championship
Gold medal – first place 2021 California, USA -61.5kg
Gold medal – first place 2018 California, USA -56.5kg

Ffion Davies (born 18 January 1995) is a Welsh submission grappler, mixed martial artist and a world-champion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competitor. 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 World No-Gi Champion from the UK and the first European to win the Brazilian Nationals.

Early life[]

Ffion Eira Davies was born on 18 January 1995 in Swansea, Wales.[4] She started playing rugby then switched to judo at the age of 8 starting competing extensively,[4] Davies became a Welsh and British Open judo champion in the junior division and was selected into the Welsh National Judo team.[2] After leaving judo during her teenage years she started MMA in 2013 alongside Brett Johns,[5] 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.[6]

Black belt career[]

After attending one of his seminars Davies moved to Dublin, Ireland to start training with black belt Darragh O’Conail at East Coast Jiu-Jitsu.[7] She was promoted to black belt, on 27 November 2018 by O’Conaill.[4] A month after receiving her belt, Davies won the Dublin International Open (Feather and Open Class) followed by the World No-Gi Championship[8] becoming the first black belt from the UK to win that tournament.[9] At the start of 2019 she won the European Championship, the Polaris Grappling Invitational,[10] the Abu Dhabi London Grand Slam, 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,[11] 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,[12] in what has been called "one of the most shocking upsets in jiu-jitsu history".[13] She returned to the UK to win the British National followed by the Berlin International Open Championship in November. In 2020, Davies won the European Championship in her weight division and open class, beating the Super-Heavyweight Champion Jessica Flowers,[14] and then won another Abu Dhabi London Grand Slam. In 2021, she won the World No-Gi championship for the second time in her weight division.[15]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitive summary[]

Main Achievements at black belt level:[4]

Main Achievements (Coloured Belts):[4]

  • 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[b] brown)[25]
  • 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[4]

Personal life[]

Ffion Davies is a native Welsh speaker. In a 2020 interview she has stated that she's a vegetarian.[8]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Davies won both Lightweight[16] and Openweight divisions, becoming the lightest competitor ever to do so by beating the Super-Heavyweight Champion.[17]
  2. ^ Weight and absolute[4]

References[]

  1. ^ "Ffion Davies ("The Honeybadger")". Tapology.
  2. ^ a b "Ffion Davies - Power Passing". The Grapple Club.
  3. ^ a b c d "IBJJF Results".
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Ffion Davies". BJJ Heroes. 13 December 2018.
  5. ^ Smith, Lewis (19 July 2019). "The pint-sized Welsh girl who can take down men twice her size". WalesOnline.
  6. ^ MMA UK. "Ffionomenal". mmauk.
  7. ^ Thévenon07, Claire-France. "Le phénomène Ffion Davies". jits.fr (in French).
  8. ^ a b Presley, Author Richard (17 March 2020). "Ffion Davies". {{cite web}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "Welsh superstar Ffion Davies leads UK medal charge at IBJJF Euros 2020". Mynewsdesk. 2 February 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Results European Ibjjf Jiu-jitsu Championship 2019". ibjjfdb.
  12. ^ "ADCC 2019 Results: Ffion Davies Breaks Bia's Arm". Grappling Insider. 29 September 2019.
  13. ^ Raftery, Heather (9 December 2019). "IBJJF No-Gi Worlds Draws Record Number Of Women". FloGrappling.
  14. ^ Lindsey, Alex (26 January 2020). "Euros 2020: Ffion Davies Becomes the Lightest Openweight Champion Ever". Grappling Insider.
  15. ^ a b "International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation -". www.ibjjfdb.com.
  16. ^ Newsroom, Graciemag. "Euros: Fellipe Andrew, Ffion Davies come out on top". graciemag.
  17. ^ Lindsey, Alex (26 January 2020). "Euros 2020: Ffion Davies Becomes the Lightest Openweight Champion Ever". Grappling Insider.
  18. ^ "Results European Ibjjf Jiu-jitsu Championship 2020". ibjjfdb.
  19. ^ "Results Campeonato Brasileiro De Jiu-jitsu 2019". ibjjfdb.
  20. ^ "Results Pan Ibjjf Jiu-jitsu Championship 2019". ibjjfdb.
  21. ^ "Results London Grand Slam 2019". bjjheroes.
  22. ^ "Results UAEJJF Grand Slam, LDN 2020". ajptour.
  23. ^ "Results UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro 2019". uaejjf.
  24. ^ "Results British National Ibjjf Jiu-jitsu Championship 2019". ibjjfdb.
  25. ^ "Results European Ibjjf Jiu-jitsu No-gi Championship 2018". Ibjjf.
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