- Ffion Davies made waves after saying judo is “way harder” than Jiu-Jitsu during a recent podcast appearance.
- She did not stop there, also arguing that No-Gi Worlds are nowhere near as difficult as Gi Worlds.
- Those comments matter because Davies is not a random hot-take merchant; she is one of the most respected competitors in women’s grappling.
- In one conversation, she managed to stir up judo vs Jiu-Jitsu, Gi vs No-Gi, and the question of what titles really carry the most weight.
Ffion Davies claims judo is harder than BJJ, and that would already have been enough to set off a week of arguments in grappling circles.
But what made her comments hit even harder was the way she tied that opinion to a much bigger point about competitive standards, technical difficulty, and what she sees as the true pecking order in the sport.
Davies was speaking about her early background and the mindset she carried over from judo into Jiu-Jitsu. The result was a brutally honest description of the difference she felt between the two cultures, and it did not sound like someone trying to be diplomatic for the sake of preserving peace on the timeline.
It’s one of the toughest sports in the world. It’s way harder than Jiu-Jitsu. That’s why I do Jiu-Jitsu.
– Ffion Davies –
Why Ffion Davies Claims Judo Is Harder Than BJJ
Part of the reason this quote exploded is simple: it attacks a comfortable assumption many grapplers carry around without really questioning it.
Plenty of Jiu-Jitsu practitioners view their sport as the most technical, the most layered, and in many cases the most demanding form of jacket grappling. Davies basically walked into that conversation and said not so fast.
Her reasoning was not built on random trolling. She comes from a serious judo background and described bringing that intense competitive culture with her when she first entered Jiu-Jitsu rooms.
In her telling, the shift was almost jarring. Judo had wired her for a much harsher pace, harsher expectations, and a much more unforgiving atmosphere around competition.
That matters because it reframes the comment. This was not a casual “my sport beats your sport” line. It sounded more like an athlete comparing two worlds she has actually lived in, with enough firsthand experience to make people stop and listen.
Davies even joked that judo people are “freaks,” but the subtext was clear: in her view, the sport demands a level of physical and mental hardness that even elite Jiu-Jitsu does not always require in the same way.
The Gi Worlds Vs No-Gi Worlds Debate
As spicy as the judo line was, the second half of the conversation may be even more combustible long term. Davies also gave a very blunt assessment of Gi Worlds, No-Gi Worlds, and ADCC, and that is where this stopped being just a cross-sport comparison and turned into a proper hierarchy debate.
She said that when she hears “world champion,” she thinks first of Gi Worlds. She also made it clear that, for her, No-Gi Worlds does not sit on the same level of difficulty. ADCC, meanwhile, was the one event she placed on par with Gi Worlds.
When I say world champion, I think Gi Worlds to me is like a true world champion.
– Ffion Davies –
That is the kind of statement that instantly irritates people, because it challenges more than one tribe at once. Gi specialists will hear validation. No-Gi specialists will hear disrespect.
ADCC fans will likely point to her comments as proof that the event still sits in a tier of its own. And everyone else will start relitigating the same old question: what is actually harder, the technical density of the Gi or the speed and athletic volatility of No-Gi?
Davies’ view was that mistakes in the Gi carry heavier consequences and that the format is more technically demanding over time. She also suggested that No-Gi allows more room for big momentum swings, where a match can flip faster and more dramatically.
That does not mean No-Gi is easy. She did not say that. What she did say is more provocative precisely because it was more nuanced: No-Gi is difficult, but not as difficult as Gi Worlds in her eyes.
Why Davies’ Background Makes This More Than A Throwaway Hot Take
This story would be much smaller if it came from someone with less credibility. But Davies has built a reputation as a serious competitor and, just as importantly, as someone who usually speaks plainly even when it is inconvenient.
That pattern matters. She has previously spoken openly about the barriers women still face in Jiu-Jitsu, including unequal opportunities, unequal treatment, and the pressure women often feel to prove they belong in ways men do not.
So this latest flare-up fits a broader picture: Davies is not especially interested in smoothing her opinions into something market-tested and harmless.
That is why the comments landed with real force. They felt like honest competitive analysis from an athlete who has spent years operating at the sharp end of the sport, not a manufactured headline designed by committee.
It also helps that she is speaking from a hybrid perspective. A lot of these debates get reduced to camps yelling at each other from opposite ends of the mat. Davies has experience in both worlds, which gives her words more bite and more legitimacy.
UFC BJJ or Gi Worlds?
Ffion Davies claims judo is harder than BJJ, but the real reason this story has legs is that it cracked open several insecurities at once.
It challenged the self-image of Jiu-Jitsu, cast doubt on how people rank major titles, and reignited the endless Gi vs No-Gi argument in one clean burst.
That is why this will keep circulating well beyond a single news cycle. Grappling is full of debates that never really die; they just wait for the right athlete to throw fresh fuel on them. Davies did exactly that here.
And because she is respected enough that people cannot just dismiss her as clueless, the backlash is likely to be matched by a lot of quiet agreement too. Some athletes will hate what she said. Some will secretly nod along. Either way, that is usually the sign a quote hit exactly where it was supposed to.
