Former ADCC champion Mackenzie Dern will face present ADCC champion Ffion Davies in a superfight on the inaugural CJI.
An enormous superfight between ADCC champions Mackenzie Dern and Ffion Davies is ready to go down on the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) this August.
In Could, Davies announced that she had withdrawn from the 2024 ADCC World Championships. As a returning champion and the girl well known as the game’s high pound-for-pound competitor, her departure from ADCC marked one of many greatest names in grappling to make the swap to CJI. On the time, no opponent was introduced for the multiple-time gi and no-gi world champion.
Dern had been slated to compete in the 55kg division at the 2024 ADCC World Championships, however her match in opposition to Davies means she has withdrawn from that occasion, which can happen on the identical weekend because the CJI.
Probably the most completed BJJ athletes presently competing in MMA, Dern is an IBJJF gi and no-gi world champion, boasting victories over the likes of Tammi Musumeci, Michelle Nicolini, and multiple-time ADCC heavyweight champion Gabi Garcia. She earned gold on the 2015 ADCC World Championships.
The 30-year-old has not competed in submission grappling since struggling a first-round exit on the 2017 ADCC World Championships.
Since then, Dern has centered on her MMA profession, rapidly discovering success on the highest ranges of the game. After a 5-0 run in smaller promotions, she joined the UFC in 2018 and reeled off a pair of wins earlier than shedding to perennial high contender Amanda Ribas.
Dern has continued to compete among the many higher echelon of the UFC’s strawweight division, regularly discovering herself knocking on the door of a title shot. She is presently driving a two-fight shedding streak however is nonetheless ranked #8 within the strawweight division.
For her half, Davies sits firmly atop the world of submission grappling and can come into this match driving a formidable 15-match successful streak that features a gold medal run on the 2023 IBJJF Worlds and a double-gold efficiency on the 2023 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds.
Given Dern’s absence from aggressive grappling, she is going to seemingly come into this contest as a major underdog to Davies, who has seemed virtually unbeatable over the previous yr.
Stylistically, although, Dern may stand to offer the Welsh grappler some issues. Resulting from her in depth coaching and expertise in MMA, Dern has developed a stable wrestling and takedown recreation – an space wherein Davies sometimes holds the benefit. And, even when Dern finds herself on backside in opposition to the elite passer in Davies, she possesses a versatile and dynamic guard that would decelerate her opponent’s trademark knee-cut passing.
Try a full and up to date checklist of athletes competing on the inaugural CJI here.
The way to watch: The inaugural CJI takes place on August 16-17 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and can air reside on YouTube.
