Introduction
Alexis Davis (born October 4, 1984) is a Canadian mixed martial artist competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is a black belt in both Japanese Ju-Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She is also a Canadian Open grappling champion. Davis at one point was the #9-ranked pound-for-pound female mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter in the world by MMARising.com and the #5-ranked 135-pound female fighter according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings. In April 2015, she was the #3 ranked woman in the official UFC women's bantamweight rankings.
Early life
Davis was a young girl when she got interested in martial arts. She was big fan of Action movies starred by Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Jean-Claude Van Damme and was a big fan of boxing and later MMA. She was a youngster when she decided to start practicing martial arts and was around age of 16 when she started jujutsu and BJJ at age of 18. She was also a member of a wrestling team in High-School.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Davis made her mixed martial arts debut on April 7, 2007, at UCW 7: Anarchy. She was defeated by former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman via TKO in the third round. On December 14, 2007, Davis defeated Valérie Létourneau by split decision at TKO 31: Young Guns. The fight was the second women's bout in TKO history. Davis faced Liz Carreiro at FFF 4: Call of the Wild on April 3, 2008. She won the fight by unanimous decision.
On January 23, 2009, Davis faced Tara LaRosa at Extreme Challenge: The War at the Shore. She lost by TKO in the third round after the ringside doctor stopped the fight due to a cut. The fight was voted as the 2009 Women's MMA Fight of the Year. Davis defeated Molly Helsel by unanimous decision after five rounds at Raging Wolf 5: Mayhem In The Mist on October 10, 2009, to become Raging Wolf Women's Flyweight Champion.
On March 27, 2010, at FCF 40, Davis replaced Jennifer Tate in the second round of the Freestyle Cage Fighting Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix. She faced submission specialist Shayna Baszler and was defeated by unanimous decision. Davis was scheduled to face Elaina Maxwell at Raging Wolf 7: Mayhem In The Mist 3 on May 8, 2010, but Maxwell pulled out of the fight due to an injury. Davis defended her Raging Wolf title against Tonya Evinger instead. She won the fight and retained her title via rear-naked choke submission in the third round.
Davis' next fight was against Elaina Maxwell at Raging Wolf 9 on August 28, 2010. This fight was originally for the Raging Wolf Women's Flyweight Championship, but Maxwell was unable to make the 135 lbs weight limit, so the fight was changed to a non-title, three-round contest. Davis was defeated by unanimous decision. Davis successfully defended her title in a rematch with Evinger at Raging Wolf 10 on November 6, 2010. She once again submitted Evinger with a rear-naked choke. She was scheduled to challenge Shayna Baszler in a title fight rematch at The Cage Inc.: Battle At The Border 10 on July 30, 2011. However, the fight was cancelled after Davis signed with Strikeforce.
Strikeforce
Davis made her Strikeforce debut on July 30, 2011, against Julie Kedzie. She won the fight via unanimous decision. She faced Amanda Nunes on September 10, 2011, on the Strikeforce Grand Prix Semifinals card. She won the fight via TKO late in the second round. On January 7, 2012, it was announced that Davis would face Sarah Kaufman in a rematch at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey on March 3, 2012, in Columbus, Ohio. She lost the back and forth bout via a very close majority decision.
Invicta Fighting Championships
Davis faced Hitomi Akano at Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann on July 28, 2012. She defeated Akano by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the second round and earned a submission of the night bonus. Davis faced Shayna Baszler in a rematch at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt on January 5, 2013. Davis won the fight via technical submission due to a rear-naked choke in the third round. The bout was named Fight of the Night.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
On Feb 12, 2013, it was announced that both Davis and Sara McMann were signed to the UFC. Davis faced Rosi Sexton in her UFC debut at UFC 161 on June 15. She won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision. In her second UFC bout, Davis faced Liz Carmouche on November 6, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 31. She won the fight via unanimous decision. cDavis faced Jessica Eye on February 22, 2014, at UFC 170. Davis won the fight via split decision.
Davis faced UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey for the belt at UFC 175 on July 5, 2014. She lost the fight via knockout sixteen seconds into the first round. Davis faced Sarah Kaufman for a third time at UFC 186 on April 25, 2015. After losing the first round due to Kaufman's dominating striking, she won the fight via submission in the second round. Following this fight, Davis took time off due to pregnancy. On October 19, 2016, it was announced that she would be making her return at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale on December 3, 2016 against Sara McMann
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 24 matches | 17 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 3 |
| By submission | 8 | 1 |
| By decision | 7 | 3 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 17–7 | Sara McMann | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale | December 3, 2016 | 2 | 2:52 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 17–6 | Sarah Kaufman | Submission (armbar) | UFC 186 | April 25, 2015 | 2 | 1:52 | Montreal, Quebec Canada | |
| Loss | 16–6 | Ronda Rousey | KO (punches) | UFC 175 | July 5, 2014 | 1 | 0:16 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | For the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 16–5 | Jessica Eye | Decision (split) | UFC 170 | February 22, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 15–5 | Liz Carmouche | Decision (unanimous) | UFC: Fight for the Troops 3 | November 6, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Fort Campbell, Kentucky, United States | |
| Win | 14–5 | Rosi Sexton | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 161 | June 15, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Win | 13–5 | Shayna Baszler | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt | January 5, 2013 | 3 | 0:58 | Kansas City, Kansas, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 12–5 | Hitomi Akano | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann | July 28, 2012 | 2 | 3:41 | Kansas City, Kansas, United States | Submission of the Night. |
| Loss | 11–5 | Sarah Kaufman | Decision (majority) | Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey | March 3, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Columbus, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 11–4 | Amanda Nunes | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov | September 10, 2011 | 2 | 4:53 | Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 10–4 | Julie Kedzie | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson | July 30, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States | Return to Bantamweight. |
| Win | 9–4 | Tonya Evinger | Submission (rear-naked choke) | RW 10: Mayhem In The Mist 5 | November 6, 2010 | 1 | 1:25 | Niagara Falls, New York, United States | Defended the Raging Wolf Women's Flyweight Championship. |
| Loss | 8–4 | Elaina Maxwell | Decision (unanimous) | RW 9: Mayhem In The Mist 4 | August 28, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Niagara Falls, New York, United States | Non-title bout; Maxwell missed weight. |
| Win | 8–3 | Tonya Evinger | Submission (rear-naked choke) | RW 7: Mayhem In The Mist 3 | May 8, 2010 | 3 | 1:47 | Niagara Falls, New York, United States | Defended the Raging Wolf Women's Flyweight Championship. |
| Loss | 7–3 | Shayna Baszler | Decision (unanimous) | Freestyle Cage Fighting 40 | March 27, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 7–2 | Molly Helsel | Decision (unanimous) | RW 5: Mayhem In The Mist | October 10, 2009 | 5 | 5:00 | Niagara Falls, New York, United States | Won the Raging Wolf Women's Flyweight Championship. |
| Loss | 6–2 | Tara LaRosa | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Extreme Challenge: The War At The Shore | January 23, 2009 | 3 | 4:23 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 6–1 | Margarita Kolmykova | Submission (rear-naked choke) | USFL: War In The Woods 5 | November 29, 2008 | 1 | 1:02 | Ledyard, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 5–1 | Kate Roy | Submission (armbar) | Ultimate Cage Wars 12 | June 27, 2008 | 1 | 3:09 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Win | 4–1 | Lizbeth Carreiro | Decision (unanimous) | FFF 4: Call Of The Wild | April 3, 2008 | 3 | 3:00 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Valérie Létourneau | Decision (split) | TKO 31: Young Guns | December 14, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 2–1 | Tannaya Hantelman | Submission (armbar) | ECC 6: Hometown Heroes | October 20, 2007 | 1 | 1:09 | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | |
| Win | 1–1 | Jody Wadsworth | TKO (punches) | KO Boxing: Warzone | May 6, 2007 | 1 | 3:17 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Sarah Kaufman | TKO (punches) | UCW 7: Anarchy | April 7, 2007 | 3 | N/A | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
Championships and achievements
- Raging Wolf MMA
- Raging Wolf Women's Bantamweight Championship (One time)
- Invicta FC
- Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Shayna Baszler
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- First Canadian Woman to Fight in the UFC
- First Canadian Woman to Win a Fight in the UFC
- Women's MMA Awards
- 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Tara LaRosa
- 2012 Fight of the Year vs. Sarah Kaufman
- "2009 Women's Mixed Martial Arts Awards - MMARising.com". mmarising.com.
- "2012 Women's Mixed Martial Arts Awards Winners - MMARising.com". mmarising.com.