Shayna Baszler vs Alexis Davis Rematch Added To Invicta FC 4Top-ranked bantamweight veterans Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler and Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis will face off in a rematch at Invicta Fighting Championships 4 in January. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the bout on Thursday evening following an initial report from MMAWeekly.com.

Baszler eked out a close but Unanimous Decision victory over Davis when the fighters first faced each other in March 2010. Both women are coming off of impressive submission victories in their most recent bouts for Invicta FC and the winner of the rematch may compete for an Invicta FC title next year.

Baszler (15-7-0) had one of her most successful years to date in 2010. Following a submission win over Megumi Yabushita, she narrowly edged out Davis in the semi-finals of the inaugural Freestyle Cage Fighting women’s tournament. Baszler captured the promotion’s 135-pound women’s title by defeating Adrienna Jenkins in June and claimed another championship five months later by submitting Elaina “Beef” Maxwell. She was then in talks to face Davis in a rematch this past year, but Davis signed on with Strikeforce and plans for the bout were scrapped.

After more than 20 months away from competition, Baszler returned to the cage in the main event of Invicta FC 2 in July. She engaged in a hotly-contested battle with undefeated Olympic medallist Sara McMann, but came up just short on the judges’ scorecards. Not to be deterred, Baszler got back on the winning track with a slick submission win over fellow grappling ace Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio at Invicta FC 3 this past month. She now finds herself potentially one win away from a shot at the vacant Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship.

Davis (12-5-0) has posted wins in five of her seven bouts since the razor-thin loss to Baszler in 2010. She made successful defences of her Raging Wolf 135-pound title in a pair of bouts with Tonya Evinger and went on to score back-to-back wins over Julie “Fireball” Kedzie and Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes for Strikeforce in 2011. The stoppage win over Nunes was particularly impressive and it propelled Davis into a Strikeforce contender’s rematch with fellow Canadian Sarah Kaufman this March.

Despite a strong third round from Davis that was enough to earn a 10-8 score from one judge, Kaufman prevailed by way of Unanimous Decision and Davis’s hopes for a shot at the Strikeforce Bantamweight Championship were dashed. She then made her Invicta FC debut on the promotion’s second card in July and became the first woman to ever submit Japanese standout Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano in MMA competition. With Strikeforce likely to fold following its upcoming event, Davis may also be one win away from competing for Invicta FC title gold should she stay with the all-female promotion.

Invicta Fighting Championships 4 takes place at a venue to be determined in Kansas City, Missouri. The event is expected to be headlined by an Invicta FC Strawweight Championship bout between Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza and Ayaka Hamasaki and may take place on January 5th, though no date has been officially announced.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)

  1. Really like Baszler, but I love Alexis Davis! Both are two of the few names who can beat Ronda Rousey, IMO.