Of all the attempts to exploit female MMA fighters for their looks, the above photo of Alexis Davis might be the most confusing. I mean, she’s clearly an attractive woman to those of us with non-Internet standards, but did the photographer responsible for this realize that WMMA is not Foxy Boxing? If you want to do a sexy photo shoot showcasing the “feminine” side of a female fighter (makeup, hurr did, etc.), then do a sexy photo shoot. If you want to showcase your female fighter as a female fighter, then have her throw on the gloves and maybe hit some heavy bags like you would with anyone else. Combining the two just seems…impractical and kind of counterproductive to the whole “we are more than just a pretty face” WMMA ideology, does it not?
Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox to pass along the news that Davis has just been booked to take on wrestling powerhouse and qualified osteopath Rosi Sexton at UFC 161 in June. According to the UFC, the fight will air on the pay-per-view portion of the card that already features Shogun vs. Lil’ Nog II and Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson (man, Hendo appears to just be rolling in it these days).
A veteran of the sport since 2007, Davis is riding back-to-back submission victories over Hitomi Akano and Shayna Baszler at Invicta 2 and Invicta 4, respectively. Her battle with Sarah Kaufman at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey easily ranked among the top 10 fights of 2012, if not the top 5, so expect her to put on a show against Sexton, who has collected three straight victories under the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship banner dating back to 2010.
Featuring a headlining interim bantamweight title fight between Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland, UFC 161 is scheduled for June 15th in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.