tty much match-fit after a satisfying journey back from the hock injury th

Lawyers, engineers, teachers. There has been no shortage of brainiacs fighting in a UFC cage. But Rosi Sexton may have raised the bar when it comes to MMA fighters education. The 35-year-old Sexton has a degree in mathematics from Cambridge, a PhD in theoretical computer science and a degree in osteopathy. She can break you, then help fix you. On Saturday, the brainy bantamweight from Manchester becomes the first English woman to fight in the UFC when she takes on Canadian Alexis Davis (13-5) at UFC 161 in Winnipeg. "I would never have imagined growing up that I would be a professional athlete," said Sexton. "In fact, if youd said that to any of my classmates, they would have laughed at you. I was the nerdy kid who didnt particularly get on with sports at school. "But I can say its been a hell of a journey." Sexton, a pioneer in the womens side of the sport, made her pro debut in May 2002. She saw a posting on a forum asking for a female fighter but, by the time she got in touch with the promoter, they had found someone. Sexton got a call a few weeks later. "The girls just pulled out, do you want to fight? Its tomorrow," she was told. She had never been in a full-contact fight and had only done limited sparring in training. "But at the same time I didnt know when there was going to be another opportunity, because there was so little of it going on," she said. So she took the fight, winning by a first-round submission. Eleven years and 14 fights later, Sexton finds herself entering the sports biggest spotlight. Having spent most of her career fighting at 125 pounds, she wasnt sure if the UFCs decision to open the door to female 135-pounders was for her. But she sat down with her team and asked whether she could fight at 135. "We decided it was too good an opportunity to turn down .. Its something that I want to be part of," she said. "Especially at this time in history, when women are just starting to get involved in the UFC, its a fantastic time to be involved in all that and to be making history." Sexton, listed at five foot three, went on a strength and conditioning program to add on some pounds. It worked. She weighed as much as 147 pounds going into camp and will have to cut weight to make 135. Sextons two career losses came at different weights. She was supposed to face Gina Carano at 135 pounds, only to have Carano show up at 139. Sexton lost the September 2006 fight by second-round knockout. "The Carano fight, I was definitely too small," Sexton said. "Im considerably bigger and stronger now than I was then ... My games changed considerably as well, Im a very different fighter now than the one I was going into that particular match." Her June 2010 loss to Zoila Gurgel in Bellator was at 120 pounds. "It was one of those (fights) where everything was going great and then I woke up," said Sexton. She dipped her head at the wrong time, catching a Gurgel knee that resulted in a first-round knockout. Sexton, who has an eight-year-old son named Luis, calls herself a full-time athlete and part-time osteopath. "One and a half jobs as well as being a mother," she explains. Luis has grown up around MMA but Sexton says hes more interested in soccer than fighting these days. "Hes at the age at the moment where I think he thinks its quite cool what his Mum does," Sexton said. "He enjoys telling his friends that his Mums a fighter, which means I get some interesting looks from the other parents and teachers at the school." Her interest in osteopathy came after she received treatment for a back injury sustained during judo training. "I was really impressed with what he did. That was when I thought, Right I need to be able to do this." A few years later, she decided to make treating sports injuries a career. Five years of part-time studying later, she had the degree to back it up. Sextons road to MMA started at 14 when she took a taekwondo class. Its started as a way of learning some self-defence, but she soon found she liked it. "It was the first time I found a physical activity that I really got a buzz off, that I really enjoyed doing." At Cambridge, she tried her hand at a few different martial arts: including judo, and traditional jiu-jitsu. Then a few years later, while she was doing post-graduate work, she saw a documentary about mixed martial arts. "As soon as I saw it, I though that looks like a fantastic thing to do, that looks like a great challenge," she recalled. "Obviously once I started training specifically for that, started doing the grappling and all of that, I realized how much I didnt know so that added a whole new element to what I had to learn," she added. Fighting has taken her around the world, from a beachside ring in Costa Rica to Las Vegas, Vancouver and St. Petersburg, Russia. "Ive had the opportunity to be involved in some great events, some I suppose really fantastic and in a way quite surreal experiences, the sort of thing that I never expected to be involved in," she said. "When I first started out in the sport, my original plan was Right, Im going to have a couple of fights, Im going to prove to myself that I can do it and then Im going to get on with my life and go work in an office or whatever. "And I had a few fights and I found that I was actually reasonably good at this. Then I started thinking Well how good could I get, if I really focused on it? Could I be one of the best in the world. "And I suppose, 10 years later, Im still here." Wholesale Old Skool . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Cheap Old Skool Wholesale . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. http://www.cheapoldskoolchina.com/ . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Cheap Old Skool . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Discount Old Skool . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said.Mark Bradstock is keen to point Coneygree at the £1million bonus put up by Jockey Club Racecourses if the 2015 Gold Cup winner makes a successful return to action in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday. The Letcombe Bassett trainer welcomed the media into his boutique yard on Monday and stated he would look stupid if he swerved the challenge to go for the King George VI Chase followed by the Gold Cup should his charge strike on Merseyside this weekend.With riding arrangements for that Grade One contest still up in the air, Bradstock emphasised Coneygree has done plenty of work on the all-weather at home as well as a much-needed workout on turf in a recent visit to Haydock with two stablemates. Its wonderful to have him back, and hopefully he can build and build and build, said the trainer.I imagine he will go off in front and any softening in conditions will be a help rather than a hindrance.He never looks impressive in his work here, but he has this extraordinarily deceptive gallop that we saw to best effect when he annihilated some decent handicappers in the Denman Chase at Newbury.Bradstock and his wife Sara hope that whoever rides Coneygree at Haydock will school the gelding beforehand. With Nico de Boinville sidelined by injury, Richard Johnson is Bradstocks first choice.Hell ride him if hes available and were just waiting to hear, said Bradstock. When we get the nod, hell come in and give him a jump.The problem for the Bradstocks is the entry given on Monday to Garde La Victoire for the Shawbrook Handicap Chase at Ascot on the same day.I know theres a big race at Ascot which I havent seen the entries for, but fingers crossed hell come, the trainer said.Aidan Coleman would be the next option and if he cant take the ride we would be scratching our heads.A second alternative option is the entry given to Menorah in the Betfair Chase, but the wet weather forecast seems likely to deter connections from taking that option.Its going to be wet this week and Id be reasonably confident wed be racing on proper soft ground on Saturday, said Haydock clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright.Looking at the bonus, Bradstock went on: If we win on Saturday we shall certainly aim him towards Kempton, as that bonus is not to be sniffed at. In fact, we would be mad not to go for it.We took him to Haydock for a proper gallop over two miles witth a young horse and then old Carruthers jumped in for the last three to four furlongs.dddddddddddd Its been so dry with us that it was his first work on grass since he came back in.Hes only run 11 times in his life and has only been beaten twice. Furthermore, he does tend to go well fresh from a break, as he showed when winning at Uttoxeter in successive seasons.Hopefully after Saturday it will be the King George, followed by the Denman Chase and then the Gold Cup. There is also the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham, but it comes closer to Kempton than Newbury.A final assessment of the Betfair Chase and the task faced by Coneygree is that the Gold Cup winner is pretty much match-fit after a satisfying journey back from the hock injury that put him on the sidelines after his comeback triumph at Sandown last season.Bradstock concluded: He had a lot of recuperation standing in his box and then progressed to being ridden out, trotting and galloping. Hes enjoyed a good, hardcore preparation.Coneygree was one of 10 horses to stand their ground for the Haydock showpiece at the five-day stage.Colin Tizzard can do little wrong this season, but his star Cue Card suffered a surprise reverse when only third in last months Charlie Hall at Wetherby.He will attempt to win the race for the third time after coasting to victory 12 months ago and scoring in 2013, but he will meet his Wetherby conqueror Irish Cavalier once again, although they will race off level weights this time.Seeyouatmidnight looked impressive in beating Bristol De Mai at Carlisle last month and represents Scottish handler Sandy Thomson.Paul Nicholls has reduced his team to just dual winner Silviniaco Conti, but he was no match for Valseur Lido on his return.Gods Own could step up in trip for Tom George after finishing well in the Old Roan, while Menorah could take his chance for Philip Hobbs.Gordon Elliott has the choice of Outlander or Roi Des Francs and there is also the possibility of Vezelay coming from France.Start a free one month trial of Racing UK and watch EVERY RACE LIVE in stunning HD from over 40 meetings. Visit racinguk.com/freetrial to start yours now. Also See: Live results service Full racecards Get Sky Sports ￡10 completely free bet! ' ' '