UFC Fight Pass Invitational: Ffion Edges Past Adele, Offers Rematch
Ana Carolina Vieira and Alex Enriquez also picked up wins on the undercard
In a match pitting the undisputed top two grapplers in no-gi grappling, riding a combined 34-match unbeaten streak against some of the best BJJ players on the planet, it was World #1 Ffion Davies capturing a razor-thin decision victory over #2 Adele Fornarino. Davies won 29-28 on two cards, while Fornarino took a 30-27 sweep with the third judge.
The second round of the match saw Fornarino hand in the most decisive performance. Like the odd rounds, it featured Davies looking to pass while Fornarino sought to stymie and set up her own attacks. Fornarino, who lost to Davies in the -60kg final at ADCC 2022, looked to possibly have completed her redemption arc with a deep foot lock attempt, but Davies was able to eat the damaging attack, regain top position and carry on. Fornarino locked up the round, but not the finish.
This meant that Davies would need to win both other rounds on at least two cards. With the two rounds playing out similarly and lacking the distinctive attack of round two, it was unsurprising when all three judges scored the third round the same way they did the first. Unfortunately for Fornarino, two of the three opted for Davies’ passing efforts to her sweep and submission entries, so while the Australian challenger likely would have swept if judging the fight in total, under the three round format it was the Welsh champion who got her hand raised.
An interesting note is that while the UFC has adopted CJI scoring rules, it would appear that they were not using live scoring updates. This could have been a massive impact on the match as Fornarino, after seeing she lost the first round with two judges, may well have sought to take a new approach late in the match to make a clearer claim to the decisive round.
With the match ending with a less clear verdict than many would have hoped, Davies was quick to offer a rematch. As someone who has built a reputation of finishing top opposition, Davies was not immediately enthused with her return to action from nearly a year off going to a close decision.
"That's not how I want to win,” Davies told [insert wrong name of your choice here] on the mats after the decision. “I've got to be honest, I thought it was very tight, but I'd love a rematch. It doesn't feel right to me. It was frustrating, she's got a great guard.”
She also took time to address comments she heard from the stands which she attributed to Fornarino’s camp, noting that she didn’t feel her behavior or quotes in the runup to the match justified them
“I don't like the guys shouting bullshit and being disrespectful to me when I've been nothing but nice to your whole crew. I've always been respectful, that's all I ask.”
Fornarino was visibly opposed to the decision and made her opinions clear when given a chance on the mic.
"Ffion is incredible,” Fornarino told Chiesa. “This is no diss to Ffion and the team she has or the hard work that she's put on, but I disagree with the score. I think the rest of the audience disagrees with the score.
“At the end of the day I was the only one throwing up submissions. I'd like to see the scorecards and talk to the referees.”
Despite the contentious ending, Fornarino wrapped things up by bringing the focus back to the importance of the biggest bout in BJJ being between two women.
“I don't want to distract from the fact this is a momentous occasion: the first ever female main event on a UFC FPI. That is not something to gloss over. I hope that there're many more of these to come. There are a lot of women in these divisions who deserve a spot like this.”
Fornarino did not address Davies’ offer to run it back, opting instead to note some matches up in weight that she’s had her eyes on.
“There's some females in the heavier divisions,” Fornarino said when asked what’s next. “Helena [Crevar] would be an awesome match, Elisabeth Clay, too. I did see that Ronda Rousey is back on the mats doing a little bit of judo and that would be a pretty fun match as well.”
Any and all of those matches would be delightful, as frankly, would a whole lot of others given the massive talent boom the sport is currently experiencing (hint, hint to any big money promotions who want to actually do an event for women) but many fans will be clamoring for this to be run back as soon as schedules allow.
A rematch will see both entering with fresher match experience, and the idea of seeing how the top two women immediately respond to the first-hand data of the first match would make the rematch an even more fascinating battle to anticipate than the first was. It’s still the biggest match to make in the sport. Someone please throw large bags of money at them like they deserve to make it happen.
Ana Carolina Vieira debuts with a win over Raquel Canuto
The night’s co-main event saw another of the most decorated grapplers on the planet make her UFC FPI debut as Ana Carolina Vieira took on Raquel Canuto, a veteran of the promotion. Fighting in opposition to a partisan crowd, Vieira maintained control throughout the bout. While Canuto was game, Vieira picked up the unanimous decision victory after three rounds.
"It feels awesome [to make my debut and win],” Vieira said after the match. “I knew it wouldn't be an easy match, but throughout the process I felt confident that I'd be able to win.”
While Vieira was ultimately unable to finish her choke attempts, she acknowledged the hold was close and credit belongs with Canuto for the escape.
“It felt really tight, I thought she would tap, but she defended really well. She's a tough one.”
Alex Enriquez moves to 2-0 on Fight Pass Invitationals
2023 IBJJF No-Gi World Champion Alex Enriquez was back in action looking to build on her win at FPI 10, and while plans didn’t go exactly to plan with a late opponent switch, she once again got the submission win. After Jasmine Rocha was forced to withdraw from the bout, Vegas-based brown belt Shye Lilly stepped up on just 48 hours notice. While Enriquez carried the day, Lilly and her fans will take plenty of positives from the night as well as some new fans.
Popular for her exciting matches, Enriquez delivered again, pushing the pace and looking for subs from the jump. A roll to a guillotine in the first minute looked to be tight, especially after Enriquez transitioned to the D’Arce, but in a developing theme, Lilly remained calm and escaped the position for the first of several deep attacks countered.
When the time came for Enriquez to lock down the elusive tap it was unsurprising it took a chain of well-timed attacks to finally secure a winning hold. Starting with a kimura, Enriquez transitioned to the armbar as Lilly rolled through. Lilly looked to have again found an escape, only for Enriquez to turn over, return Lilly to the mat and finally earn the submission.
Enriquez spoke about competing with a late change and brought the focus onto the need to find healthier solutions to weight cuts in BJJ.
"Back at home we always just focus on skill development and we stay ready,” she said of the late switch. “It was unfortunate we had a last minute change, but I'm very happy that Jasmine Rocha is back healthy. [Dangerous weight cuts] are a big thing in sports, and I believe she chose the right thing to do to look after her health first and foremost.”
She was also quick to compliment Lilly for stepping up.
“Shout out to Shye Lilly and her team for accepting the match without any notice. She's a game opponent, we were able to see that she has amazing defense and submission escapes so I was glad to be able to pull off the win.”