In five days, Cage Warriors champion and top UK talent Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton will compete in her home country of England for the first time in over five years when she headlines Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 40 in North London. Sexton will face Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi.

The 125-pound matchup will mark Modafferi’s debut in the weight class, and it is arguably the biggest women’s bout in the promotion’s history; if not the biggest to take place in European MMA to date. Sexton is eager to compete in front of friends and family, but knows that she will face a tough opponent.

“It’s perfect,” Sexton says of the fight. “I’ve not fought in England in over five years, so I’m really looking forward to competing on home soil. Roxanne is a top level opponent and very highly rated, and I’m excited to test my skills against her. It’s going to be a tough fight!”

Following lengthy layoffs that saw her compete sparingly from mid-2007 until June of last year, Sexton is pleased to be competing for the second time in just three months. “It’s really good to be fighting more often now,” she says. “I think that’s something that I’ve struggled with in the past; because the gaps between my fights had been so long, I’d always been dealing with a bit of ring rust.

“I do enjoy competing in England, though,” she adds when asked about fighting in her home country. “I have a lot of friends who have never had the chance to see me fight live before, and it’s great to be able to have my team around me. I’m looking forward to having a home crowd.”

Sexton had an opportunity to compete in front of supporters when she was last in action on November 27th. At CWFC 39 in Cork City, Ireland, Sexton became the first woman to stop American contender “Slick” Sally Krumdiack with punches, as she defeated the Washington native in the second round.

“I enjoy having the support of the crowd, but to be honest I’m not sure how much difference it makes to my performance,” says Sexton. “I’m pretty good at focusing, and once the fight starts I don’t really notice much else. I think a much bigger factor has been the training I’ve been doing and the people I’ve been working with. That fight [against Krumdiack] was my first fight since I’ve been training at Next Generation, and that fight camp was a whole different experience for me.”

Sexton has again been working diligently with the Next Generation team for her bout with Modafferi, and she has shown marked improvement in her striking; an area that was previously seen as a weakness. However, she has not neglected the other areas of her game that have made her into one of the top female fighters in mixed martial arts.

“I think in MMA now it’s more important than ever to be a complete fighter. Any opponent is going to be looking at video of previous matches and looking for weak areas they can exploit – which is why I think it’s so important to keep improving and developing with each fight. Historically, I’ve had issues with strikers in the past, so I think a lot of opponents come into a fight with me with the intention of knocking me out. That’s a pretty big motivation to improve my standing game!

“I’ve also been doing a lot of work on my wrestling and jiu-jitsu, though. I think it’s just as important to keep focusing on my strengths and improving those areas, too.”

Sexton’s game plan against Modafferi is simple. “I don’t think I’m giving anything much away if I say that plan A is to put her on her back and punch her in the face,” she says. “That’s what I do best.”

Given that her two defeats to date both came against much larger opponents, Sexton could be seen as coming in at a disadvantage against Modafferi, who has fought at weights above 135 pounds in the past and will make her debut in the 125-pound division. Not at all, says Sexton.

“No. Actually, I’ve only felt out-strengthed once in my career, and that was against Gina Carano at 140. In the [Zoila] Frausto fight, everything was going fine until I made a mistake. I don’t think that it was a strength issue. I feel good at 125, and I’ve been doing a lot of wrestling this fight camp against stronger guys, so I’m pretty confident.”

When asked about her plans for the remainder of 2011, Sexton has goals for the year but is hesitant to commit until Bellator Fighting Championships has outlined its schedule for the latter half of the year.

“I like fighting at 125. It’s a tough cut for me to get to 115, but I’d do it if there was a big opportunity. It all depends on what Bellator does next. There are a couple of fights I’d like at 115, including Megumi Fujii and perhaps a rematch with Frausto (if she stays at that weight).

“Rankings are all very well,” Sexton says of her former spot atop the super flyweight division, “but as a fighter my focus has to be on the opponent in front of me. I’m just going to keep fighting and improving, and we’ll see where I end up. As for fighting in the U.S., I think a lot [also] depends on Bellator. I’d love to get back there, of course, and if Bellator decide to do another women’s tournament then I’d definitely like to be involved.”

Sexton is also thankful for those who have helped her to get to where she is in her career and have allowed her to improve her skills over the past year.

“Paul Rimmer, Danny Withington and all the guys at Next Generation have been amazing. I’ve had great coaches and some great training partners. Pete Irving has also done a lot of work with me and put a lot of time into developing and refining my game. Matt Olson, my boyfriend, has been a huge help letting me drag him down to the gym to drill things and point out where I’m going wrong. He also deserves a medal for putting up with me when I’m weight cutting.

“I also need to thank my sponsors, PhD nutrition and Rival boxing and MMA gear; Ian and Graham at Cage Warriors for everything they do; and to all my friends and training partners for their help and support – too many to mention by name but you know who you are. I couldn’t do it without you.”

With many of those friends and training partners surely to be in attendance this Saturday, Sexton will have considerable support in her corner when she takes on Modafferi, an experienced veteran who will travel from Japan for the featured fight.

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 40, including the Sexton-Modafferi main event bout, will stream live and for free on CageWarriors.com on February 26th.