Grappling Report: Ffion Davies becomes first Polaris women’s champion
A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
Ffion Davies might just be the the most in-form grappler in the world right now.
Fresh of winning the IBJJF World and European titles in recent months, Ffion stepped onto the mats on Polaris 9 on Friday night for one of her toughest tests to date. Davies’ opponent, Gezary Matuda, is a mulitple time World and Pan Am champion, but she was unable to cope with Davies aggressive onslaught and succumbed to an early katagatame.
What a sequence from FFion Davies as she pulls off a huge upset over multiple time world champion Gezary Matuda to become the first ever @PolarisProEvent female 55kg champ! #Polaris9 #UFCFIGHTPASS! pic.twitter.com/jXy1U1sYmu
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 15, 2019
Check out the full results to Polaris 9 below (h/t grapplinginsider.com):
Main Card
Rafael Lovato Junior def. Jake Shields via decision
Ffion Davies def. Gezary Matuda via katagatame
Vagner Rocha def. Ross Nicholls via decision
Ethan Crelinsten def. Tom Halpin via armbar
Mike Perez def. Darragh O’Connaill via decision
Eduardo Teta Rios def. Santeri Lilius via decision
Preliminary Card
Tommy Langaker def. Sebastian Brosche via slide-in choke
Tarik Hopstock def. Eoghan O’Flanagan via straight ankle lock
Ash Amos def. Ed Ingamells via decision
Fred Vosgrone def. Halldor Logi Valsson via decision
Arya Esfandmaz def. Jamie Hughes via bow and arrow choke
Pedro Dias def. Nobuhiro Sawada via decision
Marcus Phelan def. Chris Newman via decision
Tom Caughey def. Jack Tyley via decision
GRAPPLING STORIES
California Kid Urijah Faber is set to face Nicky Ryan at Polaris 10. Ryan, 17, is 22 years Faber’s junior and will be giving up a distinct strength advantage. Nicky Ryan is the younger brother of Gordon Ryan and is a phenomenon in his own right, he recently won ADCC trials and is the current Polaris champion. Faber has had some grappling matches in the past, but will likely be the underdog.
The IBJJF have announced that they are going to pay their black belt division winners. This comes after years of black belts not being paid a dime to perform. IBJJF have a large streaming deal and charge a lot to compete at their tournaments, so there had been push back for them to pay their athletes and finally they have given in and agreed.
Metamoris Chapeter 2 in a recent appearance on the MMA Hour, Ralek Gracie announced that he is seeking to bring back his Metamoris grappling promotion. Metamoris was a huge success initially, but Gracie ended up getting into debt and left a number of the promotion’s combatants unpaid. Metamoris still remains in debt, but Gracie is hoping to get new investors on board.
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