Rosi Sexton Shines at ShoXC

Rosi Sexton defeated Debi Purcell to establish herself among the elite of female MMA.

The current Cage Warriors World Champion and Great Britain’s No1 Female Mixed Martial Artist won her first fight at Elite XC viewed by millions on the Showtime Network.

Dr Rosi Sexton, PhD scored her ninth professional victory in one of the biggest MMA shows in the world. Broadcast on the Showtime Network in the States, Rosi went the full distance of three, three minute rounds and won by spilt decision, (30-27, 28-29, 30-27) as she battled it out against the gritty veteran, Debi Purcell on August 15th at the Elite Xtreme Combat: ShoXC Hamman vs Suganuma 2 event in Fresno, California.

Despite giving up height, reach and weight come fight time, Sexton was able to work her usual clinch game and minimise the effects of the 39 year old's considerable stand-up offence. Highlights for Sexton included a takedown in round 2 which led to a period of ground and pound. Whilst later on in round two, Sexton landed a “Superwoman” punch which caught the eye of the commentary team. However that act was surpassed by a spectacular cartwheel guard pass by Sexton late on in round three, as the British fighter pushed the pace and secured a narrow win in this exciting contest.

This stellar performance against such a veteran fighter will mean Rosi will be back in the states before long and facing yet another tough opponent. Rumours of a new world title belt from Elite XC for the Female Division has emerged over the last few months with Rosi being hotly tipped for a shot at the title.

On her latest trip out to USA, Rosi has been the subject of a BBC documentary to be shown later in the year or early part of 2009. The news of her 3 fight deal with the prestigious Elite XC earlier in the year had resulted in Rosi appearing on UK TV and in the media inc; Sky News, Richard & Judy, GMTV, The Independent, Daily Mail and many more news and magazine titles. Rosi was supported at the event by her sponsors, TapouT. PhD Nutrition & Cagefilm.com

Cambridge graduate, Rosi Sexton holds a Phd in Mathematics and a further PhD in Computer Sciences and is currently studying to become an osteopath. A full time mother, classical pianist and MMA sports writer, she is currently the subject to many media articles and interviews.

Her partner, Karl Tanswell is also her coach and the owner of the acclaimed SBG Gym in Manchester. Rosi was keen to give credit to Karl for his contribution. She posted the following message on the cagewarriors.com forum:

”Last night after my fight, a lot of people here were talking about Karl Tanswell cornering. The owner of King of the Cage mentioned that it was "the best corner work I have ever seen". Top guys from Proelite, Showtime and even the California State Athletic Commission all made a point of coming up to him after the fight and commenting on it.

Now let's get this straight. Karl can be a pain in the arse to work with. He's demanding, perfectionist, and absolutely refuses to settle for second best. When I'm training for a fight I hate him most of the time. But.... the guy just happens to be a f****** genius. My win last night owes a lot to that - from the preparation, training and strategy, to the warm-up, cornerwork and all the bits in between.

Now, Karl hates his own people saying good things about him on forums and he's probably going to kill me when he wakes up.... but there's no doubt that he's one of the very best in the world at what he does. He deserves that credit.”