Alexis Davis

Alexis Davis (9-4) makes her Strikeforce debut on Saturday July 30th when she faces veteran fighter Julie Kedzie (16-8) at 135 lbs on the undercard of Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs Henderson in Chicago. Davis, fighting out of Port Colborne Ontario, is Raging Wolf's Women's Flyweight Champion, and a veteran of Extreme Challenge and Freestyle Cage Fighting. With a dangerous ground game and ever-improving stand-up skills, Davis looks to make her mark when she takes on Kedzie July 30th. Davis spoke to NW Fightscene the week preceding the bout and gave us her thoughts about fighting Kedzie and a whole lot more...

NWFS: You're taking on Julie Kedzie, a veteran of the sport. What do you think of the fight and how you guys match up stylistically?

Alexis Davis: I think we match up pretty well. Actually its great because its going to be her first fight for Strikeforce and my first fight for Strikeforce. And she comes form an awesome camp. She has a great clinch. Her standup is getting really nice and tight. So its just going to be who's going to impose their will on the other. It'll be a good war.

NWFS: You just signed with Strikeforce and you signed Post-Zuffa buying them out. Do you think this in indication that Zuffa will get behind & support Women's MMA?

Davis: Yes, I do. I think they are just going to kind of run with it and see how its going to turn out. Its been doing so well and women's MMA in the last couple of years has just skyrocketed, so its just another step up there. And we're selling the tickets, so I think they realize that people come out and they want to see the women fight.

NW Fightscene: So you're training down in Florida at the moment..
Davis: Its been nice. I came down early in the month for a bout a week, week and half. And I've been here right now for about the same.

NWFS: And you're down there with your coach Dave Dayboll?

Davis: Yep. They just opened up a club down here so its been a good opportunity for me. I've got to venture off and go train with other guys from different clubs too. Its been good.

NWFS: How has the training camp been going for you?

Davis: Man! The beatings of death in there. We always joke around in there, but its been hard. I always like to make sure I got good cardio because that's a big difference between a lot of fights. So I've been busting my butt doing a lot of cardio. I'm practicing keeping my standup sharp. And a lot of good grappling. I just came back today from Fort Lauderdale. I trained with a bunch of high level black belts there, so really been trying to up my game. And that's a thing that she's got. She's very diverse and I got to make sure that my game, I keep all my tools sharp as well.

NWFS: Tell us about some of the people you've been working with?

Davis: I was out at Fort Lauderdale at Pablo Popovitch's club today. I have a great home team back in Ontario Canada. We have several clubs out that way in the Fort Erie area, right by the border. Dunville, Colburn, and those guys before I came out here have been a big help for me. Just training, working circuits, and sparring. Its good to have a good change up in your game. To train with different people because everybody has different styles. Its been awesome and I think the changes have helped keep my game sharp.

NWFS: A huge women's bout is on the same card with Champ Marloes Coenen taking on Miesha Tate with the Strikeforce World Women's 135 lb Title on the line. How do you see the fight going?

Davis: That's a tough one.... Its great though because usually I'm near the end of the show, but being we're on the prelims the good thing is that I get to watch the other fights. I cant wait to see that. Its going to be tight. Miesha's got really strong wrestling background. They don't call her ' Take Down' Tate for nothing. But she's going to have to watch because Coenen has sharp submissions and she caught Kaufman. Its going to be a war.

NWFS: Who would you like to thank?

Davis: I have Clinch Gear. They're my main sponsors for this. I've got Razor Wear... I'm just happy to have my name out on Strikeforce. I thank those people that have really helped push me along the way.

NW Fightscene would like thank Alexis for speaking with us. She takes on Julie Kedzie on Sat July 30th on the undercard of Strikeforce/M-1: Fedor vs Henderson taking place in the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago. More info at Strikeforce.com.