This isn’t the title fight you’re looking for…

You’ve got to feel a bit sorry for Alexis Davis. After a couple of big wins, she felt she was next in line for a title shot. She has a point. I think she’s legitimately one of the best grapplers in the division, and someone who, on paper, is certainly capable of giving Ronda Rousey a tough fight.

Instead – she gets me. “Rosi – who?” you can hear her saying. “What’s she doing here? She’s not even a 135 fighter!”

Still, being Canadian, Alexis is much too nice to say any of this.

In case any of the fans are confused by the apparent lack of trash talk, I thought I’d provide a translation.

“I’ve been a big fan of [Sexton's] for a long time. She has fought all over at several different weights and has really been hitting her stride lately.”

I want you all to know she’s legit, so I get credit for it when I beat her up.

“She’s been in MMA for a lot longer than I have”

She’s getting on a bit now.

“I think that the majority of the fight will probably wind up on the ground because that’s what we’re both known for.”

I’m going to knock her out standing. But shhh, don’t tell anyone.

“[Submitting] a fighter like Rosi, no matter which weight class you’re fighting at, would be a huge push for my career.”

There’s no getting away from it. She’s kinda small. This should be easy.

“That’s something that I always like to look forward to, is getting submission victories.”

I’ve already decided how I’m going to spend that bonus money…

UFC!

The Monday morning after Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche made history by being the first women to fight in the UFC, I was in the gym training. Paul Rimmer, my coach, casually sat down next to me and asked “what are you up to at the moment?”
“Working, enjoying my grappling, spending time with my family – why?”
“Did you see the Rousey – Carmouche fight at the weekend?”
“Yes. Where are you going with this?”
“If you were offered a UFC fight, would you take it?”
“Of course I would, but that seems pretty unlikely.”
“Leave it with me.”

So at five to one last Wednesday when my phone rang and the name came up – Graham Boylan (my manager), it felt a bit like being on a rollercoaster just reaching the top before a big drop.

“You got a few minutes?”
“I’ve got a patient arriving in 5 minutes, but go on – what’s up?”
“I’ve got you a UFC fight if you want it. Alexis Davis, June 15th in Winnipeg. Call me back when you’re finished.”

Whoa.

16 hours later and I’m elbow deep in paperwork. Later that evening, I’m sat in a restaurant with my boyfriend and I get a call from Graham to tell me that the news is out. “They released it about 20 minutes ago. Your social media will be going mad right now.” He wasn’t wrong.

It’s all happened rather quickly. Or – depending on how you look at it, it’s taken forever. Fighting in the UFC is something I’ve dreamed of for the last ten years. Until very recently I never thought a women’s division would happen in time for me, and even then, I never really considered that I’d get a shot at it. The last few days have been surreal – I still feel like I’m about to wake up any moment.

Of course, there’s the elephant in the room that a few people have pointed out – this fight’s at 135, which isn’t my usual weight class. I’ll say a bit more about that later. Right now, I’ve got some training to do!

My take on the Fallon Fox controversy

There’s been lots of talk recently about female transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox, and whether she should be able to compete in the women’s division. I’ve had a few discussions about it, and there seem to be a lot of misconceptions going around, so here are my thoughts on the subject.

1) Many of the comments about this subject have been offensive and unnecessary. I think this is a necessary debate, but it needs to be handled respectfully.

2) None of us have a right to compete in professional MMA. People are routinely denied a licence to compete if their medical status means that there could be an increased risk either to themselves or their opponent.

3) MMA is a relatively safe sport, providing that participants are evenly matched by size, strength and ability. We have gender and weight classes not only to ensure fairness, but also to reduce the risks.

4) Contrary to some of the assertions by Fox’s supporters in the media, there appears to be no good scientific evidence that proves Fox does not have a performance advantage over someone who was born female. Expert opinion is still just opinion – and it seems divided on the subject. Experts may also have their own biases. Specialists in gender reassignment may not be equally knowledgeable about exercise physiology.

5) The experts supporting Fox have been quite cautious in their assessment. ”She probably does not have a significant advantage” and “her musculature is comparable to that of a woman” are a long way from saying “we know for a fact that she does not have a performance advantage over someone born female”.

6) The differences between men and women in sport depend on a great deal more than current hormone levels and muscle mass. For example, men have a higher ratio of type II to type I muscle fibres, which is associated with improved speed and explosive power, and a heart that is larger relative to body size. It’s not clear to what extent either of these would change after sex-reassignment surgery, or what implications that would have for performance in this case. Because of the bone structure that is developed while still growing, men also have a greater lung capacity and a narrower pelvis, giving a biomechanical advantage – factors which are highly unlikely to be reversed by hormone treatment.There are likely to be other factors that differ between men and women in terms of athletic performance that we aren’t even aware of.

7) Fox’s supporters point to the fact that male to female transgender athletes are allowed to compete as female in the olympics to support their argument that she should be able to compete in the women’s division in MMA. The IOC appears to base it’s policy on the principle that without firm evidence that an unfair advantage exists, transgender fighters should be allowed to compete in the interests of inclusivity. I agree that equality of participation is a nice ideal, and it’s a reasonable argument if we’re talking about sports like tennis or kayaking. But in a sport where one participant is trying to do physical damage to another, the burden of proof should be reversed. We need good scientific evidence to support the assertion that Fox has no advantage as a result of having been born male. Lack of evidence of an advantage isn’t sufficient – especially when so little evidence exists.

8) We should also consider the possibility that the IOC decision may not be based entirely on scientific evidence (of which there appears to be very little), but also on factors such as social pressure.

9) Good research on this subject that takes into account all the relevant factors is hard to do, for a variety of reasons. Several people have suggested that performance testing could establish whether Fox’s attributes (strength, power, VO2 max, etc) lie within “normal range” for a female athlete. Leaving aside the statistical issues, a significant problem with this idea is the question of how to measure performance variables in an athlete who – by the nature of the situation – would not have an incentive to produce her best possible performance.

10) I sympathise with Fox’s position, and I don’t entirely agree with those who say that she should not be allowed to fight. On the other hand, I believe it was wrong that Fox’s opponents were not informed of the situation so they could make their own assessment of the risks involved and give consent. This will obviously not be an issue in future in Fox’s case; but I’m concerned about the athletic commissions’ position that the opponent has no right to know. My opinion is that if someone is going to be legally punching me in the face, then it’s absolutely my business if she grew up as a male. While I understand the concerns about privacy, I don’t think that in this case the right to privacy trumps the opponent’s right to make her own informed decision about the risks she is taking.

Finally – if anyone has access to any scientific evidence that I seem to have missed, please send it to me! I am happy to revise my opinion as and when new information becomes available.

Footnote: Another concern in this particular case is with the tournament set up. The other fighters in the semi-finals are now in a difficult position – if they turn down the fight because of (in my opinion, quite valid) concerns, they lose their spot in the tournament. That, to me, seems wrong. Fighters should not be coerced or pressured into accepting a match against Fox if they are not comfortable doing so.

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It’s not what you know.

Knowing and doing are two very separate things. It’s one thing understanding the mechanics of how a particular throw works in judo, for example – being able to make it work against someone who doesn’t want to be thrown is a whole other matter.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in nutrition. Many people have a vague idea of what “healthy eating” ought to look like. Whether or not that idea is entirely accurate is another story – but most get as far as agreeing that less cake and more vegetables is usually a good thing.

When you ask those same people how they actually eat, however, it’s likely to be a very different story. One reason is that being able to apply your nutrition knowledge to

everyday life requires extra skills, over and above knowing what’s healthy and what isn’t. It’s all very well if eating healthy is all you need to think about – but for most of us, it’s about having the experience to come up with a workable system that will fit into your everyday life – complete with work, training, kids, bills to pay and days when you find yourself at a motorway service station at 10pm desperately looking for a snack.

I’m guilty of this. I’m not a nutritionist, by any means, but I know a fair bit about the subject. When I started keeping a food diary this week, though, I was shocked at how bad my actual diet was. I’d been under the impression I was making reasonably smart choices – but when I looked at it as a whole, it didn’t look so good.

This led me to two conclusions.

1. Make a plan. Trying to “wing it” as you go along rarely works, however well you know your stuff. Although you may have to change and adapt your plan as you go along – in the words of Eisenhower “plans are nothing, but planning is everything”.

2. When in doubt, call in the professionals. In the past, I’ve resisted working with a nutrition specialist on the grounds that “well, I understand it pretty well, I can put my own plan together”. Recently I’ve come to realise that being able to explain the krebs cycle or the finer points of gluconeogenesis doesn’t help in practical terms when you end up skipping lunch because you didn’t have a plan, or reaching yet again for the peanut butter because that’s the healthiest snack you have in the house.

So, when I found myself chatting to Mike Leng on twitter the other day and he offered to do a bit of work with me on a trial basis to see whether I liked it, I took him up on his offer.

It’s also one of the reasons why for the last year I’ve had the guys at Strength and Performance taking care of my strength and conditioning program. They not only know what to do, but they also have the experience from having worked with lots of other athletes to make it all fit together and work alongside all my other training. Meanwhile, it’s less that I have to think about – freeing me up to focus on what I’m doing.

The advantage of employing a specialist isn’t just that they know what to do, it’s that they have much more experience than you in figuring out how to do it, and how to tweak it to deal with the gremlins that inevitably come up. This is the kind of experience that you only get when you’ve immersed yourself in a subject and worked with it a lot. You can’t get it from book learning. There are no short cuts. That’s why they’re the professional.

The elephant in the room

New year’s resolution to lose weight, be healthier and do more? Forget the cabbage soup detox diet or the pig’s testicle extract weight loss pills.

My advice? Look for the elephant in the room. In other words – take care of the obvious stuff first.

In my experience, here are the top three things that most people can do to make a difference to their health and energy levels quickly.

1. Sleep better

A large proportion of the population are chronically sleep deprived. Getting enough high quality sleep can make a noticeable difference to your quality of life and energy levels. If getting 8 hours a night is out of the question, then consider taking a short (20-30 minute) nap during the daytime.

2. Eat less sugar

Of all the diet advice out there, this is the big one. Cut out as much refined sugar as you can – and don’t forget about hidden sources, such as sweetened drinks. Reducing your intake of starchy carbs (e.g. bread, pasta and potatoes) is the next step; think about getting most of your carbohydrate intake from vegetables, with a moderate amount of fruit.

3. Lift heavy things

Getting regular exercise is associated with better health. Strength training in particular is often neglected (especially by women) and in my experience is one of the best ways to beat tiredness or lethargy. Not only does it make you stronger, but it also helps balance and regulate various hormone levels in your body and can have a dramatic effect on energy levels. Obviously, it’s important to go about this the right way – we’ll have some suggestions in a future blog for how to get started if you’re new to resistance training. In the meantime this is an excellent site, particularly for women.

What now?

It’s been several months now since my last fight was cancelled, and I’ve had some time to let the dust settle and think things over. People keep asking me “what’s next?” or “do you have another fight coming up?”, so I’ll try and answer that question as well as I can at this point. This has taken a while, as it hasn’t been an easy post to write.

Not getting that fight was tough for me. It was a title fight that would have determined the number 1 ranked flyweight in the world. Since my previous match back at the beginning of June, it’s pretty much all I’d thought about for four months. I had a lot invested in it, both in terms of training time but also financially. After that, I considered looking for another fight, but decided against it for a couple of reasons.

First, there’s the issue of performance enhancing drugs. Steroids have always been an issue in MMA, as the women’s side of the sport grows and becomes more mainstream, it was perhaps inevitable that this would become an issue. So far, two women have tested positive – Carina Damm back in 2008 and more recently Cris Cyborg. That’s just the tip of a much larger iceberg. The testing that’s currently in place in MMA is, frankly, inadequate. Between two women of comparable skill level, if one fighter is using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) it can give an enormous advantage and increase the risk of serious injury to her opponent. I’m not interested in using PEDs myself, and I’m no longer prepared to compete on an uneven playing field.

For the fight against Sheila Gaff, I’d contacted VADA – the voluntary anti-doping association. Based in the US, VADA offers fighters the option of signing up for an enhanced drug testing program. From 8 weeks prior to the fight, fighters are subject to random, unannounced blood and urine testing. As this was such an important issue to me, I’d made it a condition of accepting the fight that both myself and my opponent successfully complete the VADA program beforehand. Unfortunately, it came with a price tag of $6000. Drug testing is an expensive enterprise, and (although this was actually very good value for money considering what was involved) it meant this was only ever going to be a one time deal. I wasn’t going to get another shot at it. I raised some of the money in donations from friends and fans – for which I’m extremely grateful. The rest I paid by credit card. When Sheila pulled out (citing illness as the reason), her camp stated that they would like the fight to be rearranged in three months time. This time, everyone knew, there was no money available for another cycle of drug testing. I’d be crazy to agree to fight under those circumstances.

There’s a bit more to my decision than the drugs though.

In order to compete at the top level, against the best women in the world, I have to put the rest of my life on hold for 8 weeks while I prepare for a fight. I know what world class preparation looks like, and that’s not something I’m prepared to compromise on.

Over the last ten years, MMA has cost me considerably more than I’ve earned from it. There’s a limit to how long it’s possible to do that for. Right now, I have a seven year old son. In ten years time, I want to be in a position where I can pay for him to go to university – and I’m not going to get there by fighting. The reality is that right now MMA isn’t, financially speaking, a viable career choice for most women. With a lot of support from a lot of people (and a bunch of credit cards) I’ve got by up to this point. I had my heart set on winning that Cagewarriors title, and with it the #1 spot in my weight class, but that’s not to be. In the real world, we don’t always get the fairytale ending we’re after. It’s time to let that go. My responsibility at this point is to my family and the people around me who have supported me through all of this, and I need to do what’s right for them.

It’s hard to say all this without sounding a little bitter, but the truth is that I’m not. I hope that in future, women’s MMA will progress to the point where the next generation of fighters will have more options. It’s developing all the time and with promotions like Invicta and the introduction of a women’s division into the UFC, I think we’re making big steps in the right direction.

For me, though, it’s never been about the money or even the recognition from others (though don’t get me wrong, both are nice to have!). I had no expectation when I started in this sport that I’d become a professional athlete, and the world certainly doesn’t owe it to me to allow me to do that. I had something that I wanted to achieve for myself, and that’s taken me further than I dreamed. I’m fortunate to have had that opportunity, and the experiences I’ve had over the last ten years are things money can’t buy. Although titles, rankings and reputations fade over time, the important things – what I’ve learned in the process – will stay with me.

I’m excited about the future. I’m looking forward to working with the next generation of female fighters coming through. I also love my job as an osteopath. And there are some very interesting projects in the works for 2013.

I’m not done with competition yet, either. I think I still have a few years left while I’m in my physical prime, and I’d like to focus more on my grappling and jiu jitsu. I know that I can still improve a lot in those areas. And while as sports they’re not completely clean either, the risk of serious injury when coming up against an opponent using performance enhancing drugs is rather lower.

I’m not ruling out another MMA fight in the future. It’s possible that something might come along that makes sense, in the light of all this. But if it doesn’t, then right now I’m happy with what I’ve achieved and it’s time to move on.

Allegorically speaking…

‎”And the winner of this year’s farmyard talent contest is Felicity the flying pig!”

“But that’s such an obvious hoax. I can’t believe you’re going to give her the prize anyway.”

“Nobody’s ever proved that. They couldn’t find any wires when they looked, remember.”

“They didn’t look until after Felicity was back in her pen. Pigs on the ground don’t need wires. When they checked her she wasn’t so much a flying pig, just a common-or-garden, rolling-around-in-the-muck and smelling-of-bullshit pig.”

“Her owner says she’s just got extraordinary genetics. We’ll have to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“Pigs can’t fly. This is making the rest of us look ridiculous.”

“You’re a waterskiing sheepdog. You already look ridiculous.”

“But at least I can actually waterski. I worked hard for this! I had dreams of being a world champion.”

“Nobody cares. Now why don’t you get back to looking after those sheep?”

“Yeah, whatever. Right after I finish this bacon sandwich.”

[Excerpt from a little known sequel to Animal Farm. Any resemblance to characters real or fictitious is purely coincidental.]