Saturday night’s Strikeforce main event between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey has been the talk of the MMA world this week, but there is another fight on the card that may hold just as much importance to the future of women’s MMA as the title fight does.
It just barely missed being featured on the main card, but the bantamweight bout between Alexis Davis and Sarah Kaufman brings the total to four of the top 10 female fighters in the sport competing on one night.
In the weeks leading up to the fights being announced, Davis and Kaufman both expressed desire to be the ones fighting for the title above Rousey, who has only fought twice for the promotion.
In the end it was Rousey who got the title fight, but Davis was certainly happy to receive her consolation prize in the form of a rematch with Kaufman.
“I thought the chances of me getting a title shot were few and far between,” Davis told Bleacher Report MMA. “But I’ve always been a fan of Sarah’s and this is a huge opportunity for me. It’s the next best thing.”
Kaufman handed Davis a loss in her professional debut, a fight in which she learned a lot about herself and the way her body reacted to the nerves of competing in front of an audience.
However, the length of time between that fight and the one on Saturday night means that there isn’t much she can take from her opponent’s fighting style.
“That fight was what? Five years ago now? It just seems like we’re two totally different fighters now,” Davis said. “I do remember that Sarah is very strong. She’s a very aggressive fighter and you can tell that from watching a lot of her videos. I’ve just got to play it smart.”
Playing it smart will be a big key because Kaufman is a bruiser who has absolutely battered countless opponents when they’ve made mistakes. As confident as she is in her own abilities, Davis understands that she is likely in for the toughest fight of her career.
“She’s the former champion of Strikeforce and not only that, but she’s one of the best in the world,” she said. “That’s the best part about fighting for Strikeforce. You get that opportunity to fight the best.”
The odds-makers have set Davis as around a +400 underdog for the fight, giving her another chance to star in a role that she has become very familiar playing.
“I love it. [Being the underdog] is kind of like my good-luck charm,” she laughed. “I’m always the underdog, so I don’t mind it at all. But it kind of makes me want to prove it. Like a, ‘Don’t count me out’ kind of thing.”
If Davis is able to overcome the odds and come out with a victory, she will likely be next in line to compete for the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight championship against the winner of the main event between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey.
While Davis wasn’t shocked to see herself as the underdog in her own fight, she was surprised to see that odds-makers had made the challenger, Rousey, a fairly significant favorite against Tate.
“I was a little surprised to hear that Ronda is the favorite,” Davis said. “I know Ronda has some great wins on her record, but this is a championship fight. It’s not a three-round fight, it’s not a one-round fight. We’ve never seen her out of the first round. I think [odds-makers] didn’t give Miesha enough credit.”
She’s not looking beyond her fight on Saturday, but when pressed on the issue, Davis did admit that she does have a preference on who her next opponent would be.
“I think I would rather fight Miesha just because I know she’s more well-rounded,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot more of her fights, so I can study her game, but I also think it’d be a good matchup between us.”
Regardless of who she fights next, Davis will be looking to make sure that the next time she steps into the cage, she’s competing for a title.
That all starts on Saturday night when she finally has the chance to avenge the first loss of her career on what could be the biggest fight card in the history of women’s MMA.
For more MMA news, fighter interviews and opinions, follow Nick Caron: @NicholasCaron.
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