Jiu-jitsu world champion Annie Ramirez is coming off of a seesaw 2025 campaign where she fell short of a medal in the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand.
Reigning jiu-jitsu world champion Annie Ramirez is eager to redeem herself after a low ending to 2025, after she missed out on a medal in the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand.
Ramirez, who won her two world championships in November when she ruled the Gi and No-Gi adult -57kg divisions at the JJIF World Championships, was unable to finish on the podium in the 33rd SEA Games the next month when she was knocked unconscious in the quarterfinals.
With three multi-sport events looming this year, Ramirez considers this year as a shot at redemption.
At the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Awards Night last February 16, Ramirez said that she has since learned her lesson from her SEA Games blunder.
“Bawat competition naman, maraming learnings, matalo man, o manalo… Sobra yung learnings, mga adjustments sa laro, hindi naman tayo nagkukumpyansa ever since, kahit naman noon pa. It's just talagang very unlucky na napunta ako sa ganoon sitwasyon at hindi ako nakapagadjust.” Ramirez told the media.
“At least, nakalist na [sa akin na] next time, hindi ko gagawin yung mga naging decision ko sa match na yun. So, ayun, kumbaga parang looking forward ako for that bounce back.”
It will be a different battle for Ramirez, though, as she will compete in the -52kg, marking a significant decrease in her weight class.
Still, she thinks it’s a hurdle she can survive.
"I think, 2019 yung last na nag-55 [kg] ako for the national team. So, medyo malaki na pinagbago. May mga... hindi na rin tayo bata. So, medyo 'di ba, maraming changes sa katawan. So, I think it's a big challenge pero kaya naman," she said.
"Siyempre, nandun tayo. I think yung one of the biggest challenges is i-prove natin. Even though hindi tayo bata, 'di ba, na kaya natin mag-perform. At hindi yan sa edad, sa performance yan," the 35-year-old added.
Ramirez first competes in the Asian Beach Games in April, before the Asian Games in July and the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games in November.
Bigger and better
Ramirez isn’t keen on taking all the credit, though.
With more and more jiu-jitsu athletes seeing success, particularly in the SEA Games where Michael Dean Roxas and Kimberly Custodio nabbed two gold medals for the team, Ramirez is upbeat on how the team will flourish in the future.
“Siyempre, ano, exciting kasi nga. It's the biggest year for the national team ng Jiu-Jitsu. Not just for me. And for the whole team. Then, maraming na rin kaming upcoming na mga members.” she said.
“So, I am happy and I'm glad na makasabay sila. Then, at sabay-sabay namin abutin yung mga goals namin for the year. Sana mag-serve din yun na inspiration sa lahat.” she continued.
Ramirez was recognized by the PSA with a major award for her double-gold performance at the World Championships.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.