Jaine Fragoso debuts at UFC BJJ 13 against Ffion Davies
The Brazilian arrives after winning the Main Character belt and the Jiu-Jitsu CON in 2026; her opponent is the Welsh star who fought Cassia Moura for the first bantamweight belt
Jaine Fragoso has a date for her UFC BJJ debut. The Brazilian faces Wales’ Ffion Davies at bantamweight at UFC BJJ 13, on October 29, at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The match was announced on Thursday, October 8, during UFC BJJ 12. In her very first appearance, Fragoso meets an ADCC champion and two-time IBJJF world champion.
“Now its official! My debut at @ufcbjj has date and time set! Ffion Davies is my opponent and I have been working so hard not just now but for so long to be ready to this kind of opportunity! And I am!” Fragoso wrote when she confirmed the match. “God has the perfect time for everything, I’m grateful He chose now!” she added. In the post, she thanked her manager, Bruno Bastos, and UFC BJJ president Claudia Gadelha for the opportunity.
From southern Brazil to the IBJJF podiums
Fragoso is from Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, and finished her run through the colored belts in 2023. In December 2024, in an interview with VF Comunica, she talked about arriving at black belt. “I have always been very hard on myself in every area of my life. So when I was promoted to black belt I thought: ‘Am I really ready?’ But I decided I did not care. If I was not, I would get ready along the way!” she said, in Portuguese.
That year, during a season in the United States under the guidance of Caio Terra, Fragoso placed third at lightweight at the World Championship of the IBJJF, the sport’s main federation, and third at the No-Gi World Championship. No-gi is the version of the sport fought without the kimono. She was also invited to The Crown, the IBJJF’s invitation-only event, where she lost on points to Canada’s Brianna Ste-Marie, who went on to win the Grand Prix. In 2025, she was back on the podium at the Pan Championship, again in third place.
In that same interview, Fragoso said she was looking for a manager and made a promise. “You are going to see me at one of these events, UFC, ONE, CJI, ADXC, etc. You can be sure of it,” she said.
A belt, a new manager and a title in 2026
The season that ends with her UFC BJJ debut brought one result after another. In February, at the IBJJF’s Albuquerque Open, Fragoso won gold at middleweight and in the open class with three straight ankle lock submissions in a row. In early May, in Austin, Texas, she beat Natasha Druggan by decision and took the 125-pound belt at Main Character. Days later, she announced that her career would be managed by Bruno Bastos, the leader of LEAD BJJ and the coach of Cassia Moura, the champion of the division where she is about to debut.
“Jiu-jitsu has been evolving so much, and I felt it was the right moment to take this next step in my journey. New challenges and opportunities are coming, and I’m ready to embrace them with confidence and a peaceful heart,” she wrote at the time.
In June, she placed third at the American National. In September, she won the Jiu-Jitsu CON No-Gi, a tournament where she had lost the final one year earlier. “One year later I’m here fighting happy and believing on myself until the last minute!” she posted.
The IBJJF website lists Fragoso as an athlete of 10th Planet, the no-gi team founded by Eddie Bravo, and among the top five of its adult no-gi ranking. She also has a video course on leg locks, the submissions that dominated UFC BJJ 12.
Also in September, she wrote about her training routine. “There is no other way to do it, you gotta train hard, train tired because when you meet the tiredness on the competition you won’t be scare of it, you gotta train under pressure, under chaos, so when you face it, it’s just another normal day in your life,” she posted.
Fragoso and Joao Nicolite on the same event
Fragoso will not be the only one from her household at the Meta APEX. Her partner, Joao Nicolite, faces Mexico’s Martin Gonzalez at middleweight. The two are coaches at Morgan Hill Jiu Jitsu, in California.
Nicolite has already competed in UFC BJJ. In June, at UFC BJJ 9, he faced Nick Rodriguez, and that day Fragoso posted a message for her partner. “I am loving living this process with you! And I am not talking about this day, I am talking about back at the start, 5 years ago at purple belt,” she wrote, in Portuguese.
Where the women’s bantamweight division stands
The bantamweight belt belongs to Cassia Moura, who on Thursday also won the flyweight title. UFC BJJ has not said whether the winner of Fragoso vs. Davies will be the next challenger.
The matches between Moura, Davies and Adele Fornarino all ended in split decisions, which means the judges did not agree on the winner. In May 2025, back at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 11, Davies beat Fornarino. On March 12 of this year, at UFC BJJ 6, Moura beat Davies and took the first bantamweight belt. On Thursday, at UFC BJJ 12, Moura beat Fornarino in the final of the flyweight Grand Prix.
After the event, Claudia Gadelha said the right thing to do is a rematch between Moura and Fornarino. At bantamweight, Moura has defended the title once, in May, when she submitted Sabrina Gondim with a rear-naked choke at UFC BJJ 8.
Who is Ffion Davies
Ffion Davies is 31 and was born in Swansea, Wales. She started in judo at age eight, found jiu-jitsu in 2013 and received her black belt in 2018 from Darragh O’Conaill. In 2022, she won the first IBJJF black belt world title by a British athlete. She won it again in 2023, at lightweight, the same division where Fragoso reached the podium in 2024. She also has the 2022 title at the ADCC, the biggest tournament in submission grappling, and four no-gi world titles.
In 2024, she submitted Mackenzie Dern with an armbar at the Craig Jones Invitational. In UFC BJJ, after the loss to Moura, she came back in June, at UFC BJJ 9, and submitted Amanda Bruse, also with an armbar. If she beats Fragoso, she will have two wins in a row since the title match. Davies now lives in London, where she is the head coach at ARMA BJJ.
After the announcement, Davies posted the match art on social media. “3 weeks out from my next match on @ufcbjj,” she wrote.
UFC BJJ matches are no-gi, and Davies has said more than once that she prefers the kimono. In 2024, she told the Jaxxon Podcast that she likes competing in the gi better. In August, she posted a training video with this caption: “No gi season (I hate no gi).”
UFC BJJ 13 also has the men’s bantamweight title match between Jalen Fonacier and Kleber Barboza. The event streams on UFC Fight Pass on Thursday, October 29.
