Will Wrexham's Davies be the next Welshman in UFC?

"I don't think you can deny me much longer and I think people will see that soon".

Those are the confident words of Wrexham native Ieuan Davies who has his sights firmly fixed on the UFC.

And with the start he has made to his professional mixed martial arts career, there is no reason he should not feel confident.

The 30-year-old captured the Cage Warriors lightweight title in sublime fashion in June as he stopped Omiel Brown in just 61 seconds with a rear naked choke.

It was the sixth submission victory of the Welshman's career and one he hopes caught UFC president Dana White's eye.

"I truly believe it will happen," Davies told BBC Sport Wales.

"I don't think the UFC can't call after our sort of resume."

Davies only has to look at former Cage Warriors lightweight champions Conor McGregor and Mason Jones, who both moved on to the UFC, to believe he is on the right path.

With a perfect 8-0 record, Davies is bidding to become the eighth Welsh fighter to earn a UFC contract.

"If we have to keep fighting, then that's what we'll do until we get there but I truly believe that we will compete and fight in the UFC," Davies said.

But for his one fight that went the distance with Michael Pagani, Davies averaged 190 seconds per fight in his other five bouts in Cage Warriors.

And while Davies has not yet been able to show his full repertoire, he insists he is "a complete mixed martial artist."

"I think people have got this outlook on me that I'm just a grappler, and a lot of my fights have gone that way," he said.

"But the finishes have just been there, so I'm obviously going to take them.

"I do believe I'm an exceptional grappler, but I think people haven't just seen the full Ieuan Davies yet."

With a new strap of gold adorning his shoulder, Davies' decision to quit his job as a paratrooper in the British Army certainly looks justified.

Davies said: "At the time, a lot of people were a bit worried and concerned, thinking, 'you're leaving a good career behind there, are you sure that's what you want to do?'

"I thoroughly enjoyed where I was at, it was exciting being in the parachute regiment, a good career, but it was definitely the right decision [to leave] at the time.

"I didn't want to be on my deathbed thinking, 'oh, what if? What if this? What if that?' I thought, I'm going to take the leap and just see what happens."

This year has marked a stark contrast to 2025 when a frustrating run of cancelled bouts and injuries almost saw Davies return to the military.

"Last year I actually thought, I don't know if I've made the right decision here and I was considering going back in," Davies said.

"I suppose there's always difficulty and struggle in everything that we do.

"At this moment in time I can look back and go, 'do you know what? It was worth it' and the stars have aligned."

Davies made the decision to move from Wrexham to Wigan where he is coached by MMA veteran Tom Blackledge at Fighter Blueprint Academy.

Commuting from Wrexham to Liverpool for work via Chester before spending his evenings training in Wigan became too much, so the family relocated.

"As far as the gym, this is my home but I've always got the Welsh in me for sure," he said.

"I am a Proud Welshman and I always rep that flag. One of my main goals is to inspire people from Wrexham.

"I always envisioned pubs in Wrexham with my fight getting shown on the television, me winning and then the pub erupting, with pints flying all over the place.

"I've always said I'm just a young lad from a small town, well a city now, with big dreams, and I'm going to live by that and we'll keep pushing to wherever we're meant to be."