Alexis Davis vs Rosi Sexton Announced For UFC 161 In WinnipegSubmission specialists Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis and Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton are set to face off at UFC 161 on June 15th in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The bantamweight bout was officially announced today, and Davis later discussed the fight and her Octagon debut with MMARising.com.

Davis is coming off of impressive submission victories in back-to-back appearances for Invicta FC. She was one-half of the first pro female fight in Manitoba’s history in 2007 and now returns to the province to face long-time pound-for-pound standout Sexton, who is also making her UFC debut.

Davis (13-5-0) has posted wins in five of her past six bouts and is one of the fastest rising stars in the women’s bantamweight division. The jiu-jitsu black belt became the first woman to ever submit Japanese veteran Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano at Invicta FC 2 and she most recently choked out Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler in the Invicta FC 4 co-main event. A native of Port Colborne, Ontario, Davis spent much of her early career competing in Canada. She and former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman faced off in Davis’s pro debut on April 7, 2007 in Winnipeg.

“I’m really excited for [the fight],” Davis says. “I’ve been a big fan of [Sexton’s] for a long time. She has fought all over at several different weights and has really been hitting her stride lately. She’s got great submissions and a well-rounded game, and she’s been in [MMA] for a lot longer than I have. I think that the majority of the fight will probably wind up on the ground because that’s what we’re both known for. [Submitting] a fighter like Rosi, no matter which weight class you’re fighting at, would be a huge push for my career. That’s something that I always like to look forward to, is getting submission victories.”

“It’s actually kind of cool because Sarah [Kaufman] and I were the very first female fight in Winnipeg and that was actually my very first MMA fight, so it must be time [again],” Davis says.

Davis had hoped to make her Octagon debut against current UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey, but she believes that she is within reaching distance of the belt and could be one step away. In addition to the bout between Davis and Sexton, an April 27th fight between undefeated Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann and knockout artist Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff could also determine a future UFC title challenger.

Sexton (13-2-0) has long been regarded as one of MMA’s premier female fighters. The Manchester, England native became the first Cage Warriors women’s champion at 132 pounds early in her career and went on to have a successful run for BodogFight. In 2010, she dropped down to 120 pounds in preparation for the inaugural Bellator 115-pound women’s tournament, but suffered an upset loss to Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto Gurgel. Sexton returned to Cage Warriors and picked up key wins over “Slick” Sally Krumdiack and former Strikeforce title challenger Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi.

This past year, Sexton entered the Cage Warriors women’s flyweight title tournament and advanced to the finals by defeating Irish standout Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly in June. She had then expected to face the aforementioned Sheila Gaff to determine a champion in October, but Gaff withdrew from the fight due to illness shortly before the bout was set to take place.

Frustrated with the use of PEDs, which she saw as a significant problem among MMA fighters, Sexton announced tentative plans to retire from the sport, but left the door open to a return if the right opportunity presented itself. Finally, after a career spanning close to 11 years, Sexton will step inside the Octagon for the first time and she moves up to 135 pounds for arguably her biggest fight to date.

UFC 161: “Barao vs Wineland” takes place on June 15th at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The bout between Davis and Sexton is expected to be a part of the pay-per-view main card.

 

 

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

  1. Love Rosi, but Alexis is too big and strong for her, IMO.

    I honestly don’t get some of these matches.

  2. Agreed, but what can be done? Alexis is too big and strong for anyone, except Rousey.

  3. Baszler would have been a better fight.

  4. Absolutely Baszler would have been a better fight, but Alexis just beat her in January. Still it’s incredible to me that the UFC hasn’t signed Baszler yet. Maybe we’ll see Baszler on the next TUF — though Shayna shouldn’t have to go that route, but rather be signed in directly.