Plenty of positives to take for Ffion Davies on World Pro debut despite final defeat

Denzil Pinto 14:25 29/04/2018
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  • Silver lining: Ffion Davies (right)

    She left the mat in tears following her defeat but Ffion Davies says she’s proud of her efforts on her Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship debut.

    The 23-year-old Brit was beaten by Brazil’s Bianca Basilio via the referee’s decision after it was tied 2-2 in a closely-fought 62kg brown-black final at the Mubadala Arena.

    Davies could have clinched her elusive gold after winning two points before it was withdrawn via video replay. But she had no complaints and will fly back to Wales with plenty of positives.

    “I thought I won the two points but it’s fine,” she said. “I’m a little bit disappointed to not have won gold but winning and losing is part of sport. I’m just happy to have reached the final on my first visit in Abu Dhabi.”

    “Overall, it was a good experience and great learning curve. The fights were really hard and I had to be on top of my game but happy to win silver,” added Davies, who defeated 10th-ranked Charlotte Van Baumgarten in Friday’s semi-final.

    Hailing from Cardiff in Wales, jiu-jitsu might not be one of the popular sports, but she says it is growing gradually. “The sport is definitely growing in the UK a lot. I’m from Wales so it’s not as big there but it’s growing in small steps.

    “I work part-time on weekends so jiu-jitsu is what I do during the week. It means I can put in a lot of training for five days which suits me and helps with my development.”

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