UFC 175: Rousey vs. Davis

Ronda Rousey (9-0) vs. Alexis Davis (16-5)

Ronda Rousey looks to continue her MMA dominance as she defends her bantamweight title belt against Alexis Davis at UFC 175 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

For the first time in her career, Rousey is coming off a victory by way of something besides an armbar. In her last match against Sara McMann on Feb. 22, she won in the first round by way of knees to the body. Of her nine career fights -- all Rousey victories -- only a match against Miesha Tate at UFC 168 made it past the first round. Rousey has proven in her career to be too strong for her opponents, eventually taking them to the ground to get the armabr locked in. The one thing that concerns some people about Rousey is how much does she care about the sport. She has already said that she will be taking a long break after this match, so there could be some concerns on her focus for this match. Her opponent, Alexis Davis is coming off a very difficult victory against Jessica Eye at UFC 170. She was able to get her fifth straight win, but by way of split decision. For Davis, she has an opportunity to become the first fighter to defeat Rousey, but it is going to take a big-time effort from Davis. She is a terrific athlete, who is as well of a conditioned athlete as there is in women’s UFC. However, she can’t afford to let the magnitude of this fight to get the best of her. Davis is a great competitor, but in the end, the heavily favored ROUSEY is truly too dominant not to win quickly.

Of her nine career victories, eight of "Rowdy" Rousey’s wins have come by submission. All eight of those wins have come by way of armbar, with her only other victory being the knockout victory against Sara McMann in her last match. As the case is in any match Rousey is in, she will have a huge advantage in the grappling department. Rousey averages an astonishing 7.73 takedown average, compared to just 0.86 for Davis. Rousey is so strong that she simply overpowers her opponents and gets them to the ground. Any time she gets her opponent to the ground, she has a great chance of locking in the armbar. While the 27-year-old California native has not won a lot of matches by knockout, she has the powerful fists to win a fight in that fashion. If Rousey is focused and locked in on this fight, it will be difficult for Davis to get the win. However, in the UFC there is always a chance, and Davis must use her striking ability.

Davis has 16 wins in her career, with seven of those wins coming by both submission and decision, with her other two victories coming by knockout. She has prevailed in eight of her past nine bouts with the lone defeat coming by majority decision to Sarah Kaufman in what many regard as one of the best fights in the history of women's MMA. However, the Canadian-born Davis will have an advantage over her opponent in significant strikes per minute, averaging 4.97 compared to 3.13 for Rousey, and holds the slight striking defense edge (53% to 52%). She has a takedown defense rate of 57%, but she absolutely has to keep this fight on her feet. If the 5-foot-6 Davis is able to stand with the 5-foot-7 Rousey, then she has a chance to get the win. However, if she gets taken down to the mat, then her chances of winning may fall with her.