Bantamweight title contenders Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis and Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche will face off in a featured main card matchup at UFC Fight Night 31: “Fight For The Troops 3” on November 6th in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Yahoo! Sports first reported on plans for the pivotal fight earlier today.
Davis made a successful Octagon debut on June 15th when she outpointed Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton in a competitive bout at UFC 161. Carmouche rebounded from a loss to champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey in her UFC debut by stopping Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade at UFC on FOX 8 in July.
Davis (14-5-0) is widely regarded as one of the most skilled grapplers in the 135-pound women’s division. The Ontario native has tasted defeat just once in her past seven fights. That loss came via a razor-thin Majority Decision in a rematch with former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman in March 2012. Davis is currently riding a three-fight winning streak that includes notable submission victories over Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano and Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler. She most recently edged out Sexton in a grappling-heavy bout on the UFC 161 card.
Carmouche (9-3-0) has already challenged for two major titles in her career and she has her sights set on a rematch with Rousey in the near future. After suffering a pair of defeats in Strikeforce, including in a March 2011 title fight that Carmouche largely dominated, the Californian rebounded with two wins for Invicta FC. In the UFC’s first female fight, Carmouche gave Rousey a scare and nearly submitted the judoka before succumbing to a Rousey armbar late in round one at UFC 157. Carmouche scored her first UFC victory when she battered Andrade in a FOX-televised bout at UFC on FOX 8.
With both fighters seemingly on the cusp of title contention, a win for either woman could potentially set up a showdown with Rousey down the line. Davis has long been seen as one of the biggest threats to Rousey’s title reign and Carmouche has come closest to defeating the unbeaten champion thus far.
UFC Fight Night 31: “Fight For The Troops 3” takes place on November 6th at Fort Campbell in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The event is headlined by a middleweight bout between Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Tim Kennedy.
(Photo Credit: UFC)
Alexis made short work of Baszler, who is a superior wrestler to Carmouche, in my opinion. I think Liz will be submitted.