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UFC athlete Mackenzie Dern was taken down and submitted by Ffion Davies during their match at the Craig Jones Invitational hosted in Las Vegas this past weekend. Millions of dollars were awarded to the winners of the event, but Wales’ Ffion Davies took the headlines with her impressive throw and grappling work.

Ffion Davies

The Welsh-born Ffion Davies is carving a name for herself as being one of the all-time greats in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Ffion Davies has achieved remarkable success in grappling competitions. She won first place at the ADCC in 2022 and secured the top spot at the IBJJF World Championship in both 2022 and 2023. In the NOGI category, she claimed first place at the IBJJF World Championship in 2018, 2021, and 2023. Additionally, she succeeded at the IBJJF European Open in 2019 and 2020, as well as at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2019. Davies also took first place in the UAEJJF Grand Slam in London in both 2019 and 2020.

Mackenzie Dern

The American-Brazilian Mackenzie Dern is a UFC fighter but comes from an incredibly decorated background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Mackenzie Dern has an impressive list of achievements in the world of grappling. She secured first place at the ADCC Championship in 2015 and also won the IBJJF World Championships that same year. In the NOGI category, she took first place at the IBJJF World Championships in 2015. Dern continued her winning streak by claiming first place at the IBJJF Pan American Championships in both 2015 and 2016.

Ffion Davies vs. Mackenzie Dern

Despite her background in grappling, the UFC’s Mackenzie Dern was out of her element when it came to rolling against Ffion Davies at the CJI. In the second of their meeting, Davies tosses Dern with a very impressive head and arm throw, then angles to achieve a perfect inverted armbar forcing the tap.

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See the highlights below:

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Lightweight Dan Hooker entered his UFC 305 main card match against fifth-ranked Mateusz Gamrot ranked eleventh in the division.  “The Hangman” picked up a split decision win and injected new life into his plans of fighting for a UFC title. 

Hooker was hurt early in the fight but battled back and continued to press forward.  In the last two rounds, Hooker had Gamrot fighting off his back leg.  It was a closely contested match and earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors.  Following the win, Hooker spoke with commentator Daniel Cormier and was fired up to say the least.  

“How you like me know?  How you like me now,” Hooker yelled into the microphone.  “I’m going to be in the Top 5.  Look at me now.  I want them all, brother.  I want the BMF.  I want Conor McGregor.  I want a title eliminator.  I want everything.”

The win was the third in a row for the 34-year old New Zealander.  For Gamrot, the loss to Hooker snapped a three-fight winning streak.  

UFC 305 Octagon Interview: Dan Hooker    

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Shoving Match
| BJPenn.com

‘Gordo’ scored plenty of points against Simoes in a crushing performance that makes us wonder who will dethrone ‘King Ryan?’

Gordon Ryan won his second ADCC Superfight of the weekend on Sunday, dominating Yuri Simoes en route to a 21-0 victory on points.

This was a much better performance from Ryan, who went to overtime against Felipe Pena in Saturday’s Superfight, eeking out a 2-0 win off a close scramble (see video highlights here). Against Simoes, Gordo racked up points by improving position, going from mount back to half-guard repeatedly.

There was a fair amount of action on this one, with Ryan attacking Simoes’ arm repeatedly during the bout. Simoes finished the fight trying to force a tap from an ankle lock, but it’s unclear if he’d have been able to get it even if the clock didn’t run out.

The win makes Gordon Ryan a seven time ADCC champion and it’s hard to imagine who could emerge to beat him in the future. Even Kaynan Duarte, who won this year’s Absolute and -99kg division, has already fallen to Ryan in past matches. Would the Ryan that showed up this weekend be able to beat the Kaynan who hit seven submissions in eight wins? We may have to wait until ADCC 2026 to find out.

There is also Nicky Rod, who challenged Ryan to a $ 1 million grappling match. Check out what the CJI tournament winner told MMA Mania about a potential match with Gordo here.

For now it really seems like the biggest opponent for Ryan is his own body, which continues to force him out of competition for lengthy stretches. Check out the highlights from Ryan’s victory over Simoes below:

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dricus du Plessis is willing to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland in a rematch of their January title fight, but believes another former foe is more deserving.

Du Plessis stopped Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of Saturday’s UFC 305 main event in Perth. UFC CEO Dana White said prior to the bout that Strickland would be next for the winner. At the post-fight press conference, du Plessis was asked about the man he already defeated for the title and if he thinks trash talk with Strickland will get personal once again.

“I don’t know,” du Plessis said. “Does he want to cry again?”

Fortunately for du Plessis, middleweight is loaded with stars and talent currently. In an upcoming massive fight at UFC 308 in October, Robert Whittaker faces Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round rebooked co-main event. It will be Whittaker’s third fight of 2024 after beating Paulo Costa at UFC 298 via unanimous decision in February, and then stopping Ikram Aliskerov in the first round at UFC Saudi Arabia in June.

Du Plessis gave his thoughts on which fighter in the 185-pound division deserves the next crack at his 185-pound title the most, and he sided with the man he stopped at UFC 290 in July 2023 to earn his championship opportunity.

“Robert Whittaker,” du Plessis said. “Robert Whittaker deserves the shot. I think he’s being done over. Whittaker beat Costa.

“Sean Strickland’s only saving grace is the fact he went to decision with me. That’s it. Robert Whittaker beat Costa in a more spectacular fashion, I believe, than Strickland did. Then Whittaker steps up to fight Khamzat, [Chimaev] pulls out, Whittaker fights a nobody in the sense of [Aliskerov] is not in the rankings, he can only lose, and it’s a great fighter. Ikram is an amazing fighter, he’s really good. Whittaker makes it look like he’s fighting an amateur.

“And what does he get for it? Nothing. Then says, ‘OK, I’ll fight Khamzat again.’ So if he beats Khamzat, do you not give him the title shot? He’s getting the short end of the stick, unfortunately. That’s not on me. I’ll fight whoever. Strickland’s the fight everyone wants to see, but Whittaker is the one being done over, in my opinion. He’s more deserving, but life’s not fair.”

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Former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya had the opportunity to become a three-time titleholder when he took on champion Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 305 main event.  It wasn’t to be for “The Last Stylebender.”

It was a hard-fought, back and forth battle with du Plessis coming on strong in the fourth round to finish Adesanya via submission.  After hurting Adesanya with a punch, du Plessis quickly took the former champion’s back and locked on a rear-naked choke.  Adesanya was forced to tap out.  

Following the loss, Adesanya spoke with commentator Daniel Cormier inside the octagon and vowed to return.  “I’m not f***ing leaving,” he said.    

UFC 305 Octagon Interview: Israel Adesanya  

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