Coup! UFC Beats Out BJJ Orgs, Books Biggest Possible Bout
01/21/2025 09:00 AM
UFC has booked the top two pound-for-pound BJJ stars as the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 main event.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promised to "take over jiu-jitsu like they have MMA," and it looks like they're taking big steps toward that goal. After signing away Mikey Musumeci to a landmark deal, the UFC has followed up by booking what is arguably the best match up possible in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) today.
As announced during UFC 311's broadcast, UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 (UFC FPI 10) will be headlined by the two top women in BJJ in Ffion Davies and Adele Fornarino. The match will happen on March 6, 2025, and will be held at 125 pounds.
Davies was the biggest female star and reigning ADCC champion, when she decided to switch over to the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational (CJI). She said the move was to fight for better pay in BJJ, and Davies went on to absolutely dominate and submit Mackenzie Dern in the high profile event.
In the very same weekend, Fornarino had the performance of her lifetime at ADCC 2024. After winning her division, the 24-year-old went on an incredible run, beating much larger champions in the Absolute tournament to take double ADCC gold medals as the smallest competitor.
Davies, 29, is a seven-time BJJ world champion across IBJJF gi, no gi, and ADCC. Fornarino is the current WNO champion, and first ever — male or female — ADCC double gold medalist from the smallest division.
It's curious that the UFC didn't put this up as a title fight, which would be a marketing miss on their part. Even without medals or belts though, make no mistake, this match up is between the best of the best, with the consensus two top pound for pound female champions today.
It's also hard to overstate how much of a coup this is for the UFC. Since that huge CJI vs. ADCC weekend last August, Davies vs. Fornarino has been the grappling bout to make, and it's interesting that the UFC just beat out all the other BJJ organizations to it.
There are certainly bouts that could be bigger commercially, like Gordon Ryan taking on either ADCC double gold medalistKaynan Duarte or CJI champNick Rodriguez. With Ryan's inactivity and selectiveness as of late though, neither bout seems realistic. So from a sporting perspective, Fornarino vs. Davies is arguably the best possible match up to be made in BJJ right now, and UFC hit a home run by being the one to actually get it done.
To checkout the latest BJJ-related news and notes click here.
