Alexis Rufus (born 28 April 1979) is an English

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and ...

who competes in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

and

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

divisions. Having turned professional in 2005, Rufus is a two-time European and five-time world champion.

Early life

Alexis Rufus was raised with two brothers and has described herself as a

tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...

growing up. She was involved in numerous sports in her childhood and, at eighteen, began studying fine art sculpture at university and then worked in the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

art industry for ten years. She began training in

when a friend suggested it as an alternative to normal workouts.

Career

Having begun her professional career in 2005, Alexis Rufus suffered her first loss in a

full contact kickboxing The Professional Karate Association (PKA), later Professional Karate & Kickboxing Association, and now effective from March 1, 2022 PKA Worldwide was originally a martial arts sanctioning organization, now transformed into a martial arts promotio ...

match on 7 April 2007 when she dropped a

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

to Tracey Renow in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The pair rematched in Hove on 24 November 2007 with the vacant Golden Belt Women's British -59.5 kg/131 lb Full Contact Championship on the line, and Renow again came out on top, this time by

majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (at ...

. Rufus then rebounded with a lengthy win streak and, on 13 September 2009,

outpoint Outpoint is a term frequently used in boxing to describe a situation in which one boxer is awarded more points than his or her opponent by the judges, but does not knock out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning cri ...

ed Lucy Payne at ''Muay Thai Addicts II'' in London to become the United Kingdom Muaythai Federation (UKMF) Women's English Featherweight (-57 kg/125 lb) Champion. Now a reigning domestic champion, she soon moved up to international competition and beat Caterino Valerio by decision to take the

ISKA The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches. It is based in the United States. It was est ...

Women's European Bantamweight (-54.5 kg/120 lb) Muay Thai title in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England on 13 March 2010. Later that year, on 23 October, she became a world champion for the first time when she beat Malika Machtoune for the ISKA World Muay Thai title in Essex. Winning by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in round two, Rufus forced Machtoune's team to throw in the towel after cornering the Frenchwoman and delivering a barrage of unanswered

knees In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

and punches. Rufus ended out 2010 with a unanimous decision win over Jessica Gladstone, who she has described as her toughest opponent, at ''Journey Fight Series I'' in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

on 13 November. On 19 March 2011, Rufus took on

Lorena Klijn Lorena Klijn (born September 20, 1987) is a Dutch kickboxer who competes in the flyweight and bantamweight divisions. Career Lorena Klijn rose to prominence by winning the World Professional Kickboxing League (WPKL) Women's World Flyweight Cham ...

for the vacant IKF Women's World Bantamweight (-55.4 kg/122 lb) Muay Thai title in Essex. The first two rounds were close but Rufus began to pull away in the third and inflicted Klijn's first defeat by unanimous decision. Shortly after, she won her third world title when he beat

Joanne Calderwood Joanne Wood (; born 23 December 1985) is a Scottish retired professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai champion who competed in the Women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Biography Wood first started Mu ...

for the WKA belt. Challenging for the WPMF Women's World Featherweight (-57.1 kg/126 lb) Championship, Rufus suffered her first defeat in four years when she lost to Mesa Tor Buamas on points at the ''Queen's Cup 2011'' in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

on 11 August 2011. After rebounding with a UD win over Mellony Geugjes at ''Stars Fight Night'' in London on 27 November 2011, Alexis Rufus won the WPMF Women's World Bantamweight (-53.5 kg/118 lb) Championship in Thailand in March 2012. She fought Kate Heuston for the vacant WMC Women's Intercontinental Featherweight (-57.1 kg/126 lb) title at ''Ignition Muay Thai'' in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

on 22 April 2012, losing a UD. This would kick off a three-fight losing streak for Rufus as she then lost two decisions to Sawsing Sor Sopit at

Rangsit Stadium Rangsit Stadium () is a stadium, organizer, TV Show and live broadcaster of Muay Thai events in Rangsit. The struggles of the Rangsit Stadium are approved by WMC (World Boxing Council Muaythai) ranking. Rangsit Stadium also hosts IFMA events. ...

Pathum Thani Pathum Thani (, ) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, directly north of Bangkok. It is the capital of the Pathum Thani province, Thailand as well as the Mueang Pathum Thani district. As of 2005, it has a population of 18,320, c ...

, Thailand in May and then Farseethong Sithsorung in a WPMF world featherweight title match at the ''King's Cup 2012'' on 27 July 2012. She got back in the win column on 23 September 2012 when she beat Ilsury Hendrikse via UD for the WMC Women's World Bantamweight (-53.5 kg/118 lb) Championship, her fifth world title belt, at ''Stars Fight Night 3'' in London. On 1 December 2012, she beat Kate Stables on points at ''Smash Muay Thai 2'' in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England. Rufus was

knocked out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

for the first time in her career when she lost to

Tiffany van Soest Tiffany Lynn van Soest (born March 20, 1989) is a retired American Muay Thai kickboxer who competed in the bantamweight division. She is the former two-time Glory Super Bantamweight Champion and a two-weight Lion Fight champion. Originally a ...

in the co-main event of ''Lion Fight 8'' in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on 25 January 2013. It was a closely contested affair up until round four when van Soest rocked Rufus with a high kick before dropping her for good with a right hand. Competing under Oriental kickboxing rules, she lost for the second time on the trot when she dropped a unanimous decision to Iman Barlow after a back-and-forth fight in which the inaugural Enfusion Live Women's -54 kg/119 lb Championship was up for grabs. Rufus was expected to fight Christi Brereton ''Smash Muay Thai 7'' in Liverpool on 21 December 2013 but Brereton withdrew after having issues with the promoter and was replaced by Tanya Merrett. Rufus defeated Merrett on points. Alexis Rufus and Christi Brereton finally met in

Telford Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern b ...

, England on 22 February 2014 at ''Muay Thai Unleashed II'', with Brereton winning by unanimous decision to take the previously vacant UKMF Women's British Bantamweight (-55 kg/121 lb) Championship.

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

International Kickboxing Federation The International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) is a sanctioning body for kickboxing and Muay Thai based in the United States. The IKF sanctions and regulates all aspects of these sports from Semi ContactIKF Point Kickboxing (IKF/PKB) to Full Conta ...

** International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Women's World Bantamweight (-55.4 kg/122 lb) Muay Thai Championship (One time) *

International Sport Karate Association The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches. It is based in the United States. It was es ...

**2011 ISKA Female Fighter of the Year **ISKA Women's European Bantamweight (-54.5 kg/120 lb) Muay Thai Championship (One time) **ISKA Women's World Muay Thai Championship (One time) *United Kingdom Muaythai Federation''https://ukmtf.com/ **UKMF Women's English Featherweight (-57 kg/125 lb) Championship (One time) https://ukmtf.com/ **UKMF Women's British Championship (One time) *

World Kickboxing Association The World Kickboxing Association (WKA) also known as World Kickboxing and Karate Association, is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning body for kickboxing and Karate. History In 1976, the WKA was founded by Howa ...

**WKA Women's World Muay Thai Championship (One time) *

World Muaythai Council The World Muaythai Council (WMC) is one of the oldest professional sanctioning organizations of Muaythai in the world for the sport. The organization was set up in 1995 by parliament resolution, and is incorporated by the Royal Thai Government a ...

**WMC Women's European Championship (One time) **WMC Women's World Bantamweight (-53.5 kg/118 lb) Championship (One time) *World Professional Muaythai Federation **WPMF Women's World Bantamweight (-53.5 kg/118 lb) Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Ipswich, England Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Kickboxing record

, - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2014-02-22 , , Loss , , align=left,

Christi Brereton Christi Coral Brereton (née Campbell; born 26 November 1992) is an English people, English female kickboxer and muay thai fighter based in Okehampton. She has fought for a WBC Muaythai title. Christi Brereton is signed with kickboxing organisat ...

, , Muay Thai Unleashed II , ,

Telford, England Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern b ...

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , 27-9 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2013-12-21 , , Win , , align=left, Tanya Merrett , , Smash Muay Thai 7 , ,

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

, , Decision , , 5 , , , , 27-8 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2013-03-30 , , Loss , , align=left,

Iman Barlow Iman Barlow (born 14 April 1993) is a retired professional English female kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter. She is the former two time Enfusion 54 kg World champion with six successful title defenses, the former WRSA World champion, form ...

, , Enfusion Live 3 , ,

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , 26-8 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2013-01-25 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , Lion Fight 8 , ,

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County, Nevada, Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave De ...

, , KO (left high kick and punches) , , 4 , , 2:05 , , 26-7 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2012-12-01 , , Win , , align=left, Kate Stables , , Smash Muay Thai 2 , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , , , 26-6 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2012-09-23 , , Win , , align=left, Ilsury Hendrikse , , Stars Fight Night 3 , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , 25-6 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2012-07-27 , , Loss , , align=left, Farseethong Sithsorung , , King's Cup 2012 , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , 24-6 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2012-05-00 , , Loss , , align=left, Sawsing Sor Sopit , ,

, , Pathum Thani, Thailand , , Decision , , 5 , , , , 24-5 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2012-04-22 , , Loss , , align=left, Kate Heuston , , Ignition Muay Thai , ,

Perth, Australia Perth () is the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth is part of the ...

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, , Decision , , 5 , , 2:00 , , 24-3 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2011-11-27 , , Win , , align=left,

Mellony Geugjes Mellony Geugjes (born 26 July 1992) is a Dutch female kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She has competed professionally since 2009 and is the current ISKA Featherweight champion which she won by defeating Dilara ...

, , Stars Fight Night , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 2:00 , , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2011-08-11 , , Loss , , align=left, Mesa Tor Buamas , , Queen's Cup 2011 , ,

Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, , Decision , , 5 , , , , , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2011-00-00 , , Win , , align=left,

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, , Keddle's Promotions: Championship Muay Thai , ,

Essex, England Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2010-11-13 , , Win , , align=left, Jessica Gladstone , , Journey Fight Series I , ,

Calgary, Alberta, Canada Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in Ca ...

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2010-10-23 , , Win , , align=left, Malika Machtoune , , Keddle's Promotions , ,

, , TKO (punches and knees) , , 2 , , 0:26 , , , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2010-03-13 , , Win , , align=left, Caterino Valerio , , Keddle's Promotions , ,

, , Decision , , 5 , , , , , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2009-09-13 , , Win , , align=left, Lucy Payne , , Muay Thai Addicts II , ,

, , Decision , , 5 , , 2:00 , , , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2008-11-23 , , Win , , align=left, Jo Abrehart , , Capital Punishment: Battle of Waterloo , ,

, , , , , , , , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2007-11-24 , , Loss , , align=left, Tracey Renow , , 21st Century Promotions: Championship Kickboxing , ,

Hove, England Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

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, , Decision (unanimous) , , , , , , , - , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

External links

*
Awakening profile

Official Enfusion profile
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rufus, Alexis 1979 births Living people English female kickboxers Bantamweight kickboxers Featherweight kickboxers English female Muay Thai practitioners Martial artists from London English female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai