Rosemary Ann Sexton (born 16 July 1977) is a British politician, mathematician, sports therapist, osteopath, and former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. Sexton obtained a degree in mathematics from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1998, before later obtaining a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in mathematical logic in 2000 from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

and eventually a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in theoretical computer science. She began her professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA) career in 2002, becoming the first

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under ...

Women's 132 lbs Champion in 2005 in addition to becoming the first British woman to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) in 2013. She retired from MMA in 2014. A member of the

Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...

, Sexton was elected as a councillor in the Shirley West ward of the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in 2019. In 2020, she ran in the Green Party leadership election and came second.

Education and early life

Sexton was born in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, France but moved to Britain at a young age, and grew up and received her education in the United Kingdom. She attended

Kendrick School Kendrick School is a selective girls' grammar school situated in the centre of Reading, Berkshire, UK. In February 2011, Kendrick became an Academy. History The school is named after John Kendrick, a Reading cloth merchant who died in 1624. ...

, Reading. Her father commented "what consistently runs through Rosi's life is winning: she has a need to win. Her physics teacher said ‘Rosi has a meticulous approach to her studies and nothing short of perfection satisfies her' ".

Music

Sexton was a musician and played with the Reading Youth Orchestra while at school (from 1991 to 1995). She reached grade 7 in cello and grade 8 in piano, then became an Associate of the London College of Music Examinations (piano). In November 1994, aged 17, she played in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, with the Reading Youth Orchestra. She also played the organ ("though I never got very good").

Mathematics

In 1995, Sexton was admitted to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where she took a first class degree in mathematics (1998). Her tutor in mathematics was Tim Gowers. She preferred pure maths: her particular interests were logic, combinatorics and number theory. She then moved to the University of Manchester, where she achieved a

(MSc) degree in

mathematical logic Mathematical logic is the study of Logic#Formal logic, formal logic within mathematics. Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory (also known as computability theory). Research in mathematical logic com ...

in 2000. She went on to complete a

in theoretical computer science. Her supervisor was Harold Simmons who held a joint position in the School of Mathematics and the Department of Computer Science, with whom she wrote two papers ''Point-sensitive and point-free patch constructions''. and ''An ordinal indexed hierarchy of separation properties''.

Political activity

In May 2019, Sexton was elected as a

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

councillor in the Shirley West ward of the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. In the same election, her partner Stephen Caudwell was elected as Green Party councillor for the Castle Bromwich ward. She ran in

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

as a parliamentary candidate in the 2019 general election, losing to Julian Knight and coming in fourth with 3.7% of the vote. On 28 June 2020, it was announced that Sexton would stand as a candidate in the Green Party of England and Wales leadership election. The results were announced on 9 September 2020: Sexton came second, beaten by incumbent leaders

Jonathan Bartley Jonathan Charles Bartley (born 16 October 1971) is a British politician who was a Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, a position he shared with Caroline Lucas from 2016 to 2018, ...

and

Siân Berry Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...

Mixed martial arts career

Sexton had been involved in martial arts since she was at school. She already held dan grades in jujutsu and Taekwondo. In 2000, after 10 years' experience in martial arts, she decided to train in Mixed Martial Arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as a way of proving to herself that what she had learned was applicable to real life. A clue to the reason for this career change may be found in her comment "The other things I did, the music, the maths, just weren't quite hard enough" At the same time, she trained in osteopathy, receiving a degree in that subject from

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

in 2010. She currently practices as an Osteopath in the Birmingham (Solihull) area, with a particular interest in sports injuries and evidence-based practice. She has written about the problem of performance-enhancing drugs (doping) in combat sports, and is a supporter of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, VADA. She is a spokesperson for SafeMMA, an organisation dedicated to ensuring safety of competitors, and she runs a combat sports injury clinic. In 2018, aged 41, she was promoted to black belt in BJJ by Paul Rimmer.

Early MMA career

Sexton made her mixed martial arts debut on 11 May 2002. She won her first five fights before moving up in weight to face

Gina Carano Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American actress and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. She competed in Elite Xtreme Combat and Strikeforce (mixed martial arts), Strikeforce from 2006 to 2009, where she compiled a 7– ...

on 15 September 2006. Sexton was defeated by knockout late in the second round.

BodogFight

Sexton debuted for BodogFight on 16 December 2006 and upset Brazilian submission specialist Carina Damm with an armbar late in the first round. On 17 February 2007, Sexton faced Japanese striker "Windy" Tomomi Sunaba at a BodogFight event in Costa Rica. Sexton won the fight by Technical Decision in the second round after Sunaba suffered a serious ankle injury. Sexton fought once more for BodogFight and submitted

Julia Berezikova Julia Alexandrovna Berezikova (; born ) is a Russian female mixed martial artist and boxer. In February, 2014 she was the #7-ranked 125-pound female fighter in the world according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings. She has not fought since she k ...

on 24 August 2007.

EliteXC

Sexton signed an exclusive three-fight contract with Elite XC in June 2008. She faced Debi Purcell at the 15 August 2008 ShoXC event in Friant, California and defeated Purcell by split decision.

Bellator Fighting Championships

Following the demise of Elite XC, Sexton debuted for

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from '' bellātor'', the Latin word for "warrior". Bellato ...

at Bellator 12 on 19 June 2009. She submitted Valerie Coolbaugh with an armbar in the first round. Sexton was scheduled to face Angela Magaña at CWFC 37: Right To Fight on 22 May 2010, but Magana suffered an injury and Sexton was matched against Emi Fujino. However, due to Sexton's re-signing with Bellator, her CWFC fight was cancelled. Sexton faced

Zoila Gurgel Zoila Frausto (born December 10, 1983) is an American kickboxer and former professional mixed martial artist. She was the first Bellator Women's Champion. Background Zoila is of Mexican descent and heritage. Zoila's father is a third-degree bl ...

at Bellator 23 on 24 June. She was defeated by knockout exactly two minutes into the first round. As a result of the knockout loss, Sexton was given a 60-day medical suspension and did not compete in the Bellator women's 115-pound tournament.

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship

Sexton returned to face Sally Krumdiack at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 39 on 27 November 2010 in Cork, Ireland. She won via TKO in the second round. Sexton faced Roxanne Modafferi at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 40 on 26 February 2011. She defeated Modafferi by unanimous decision. Sexton was scheduled to face Sheila Gaff at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 43 on 9 July 2011 for the Cage Warriors Women's Super Flyweight Championship at 125 pounds. However, she suffered a concussion during training and was forced to withdraw from the fight. On 2 June 2012, Sexton faced

Aisling Daly Aisling Daly ( ; born 24 December 1987) is a retired Irish female professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who last competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC women's Strawweight (MMA), strawweight division. Daly had been ...

at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 47. The bout was part of a tournament to crown a

125-pound women's champion. Sexton defeated Daly by unanimous decision to advance to the tournament final. Sexton was scheduled to face Sheila Gaff in the finals at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 49 on 27 October 2012 in

Cardiff, Wales Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) drug testing was used in the weeks prior to the planned fight. However, the bout was cancelled on 19 October when Gaff withdrew due to illness.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sexton moved up in weight to make her UFC debut in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on the

UFC 161 ''UFC 161: Evans vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held on June 15, 2013, at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Background While the UFC has hosted several events in the past in Canada, the event was the first that the or ...

card against Alexis Davis on 15 June 2013. Sexton lost the fight by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–27, and 29–28). On 26 October 2013, Sexton returned to the Octagon and faced Jéssica Andrade at

UFC Fight Night 30 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The large ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27, and 30–26). Sexton was released from the promotion shortly after the fight. On 21 June 2014, Sexton announced her retirement from MMA competition.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 ,

Joanna Jędrzejczyk Joanna Jędrzejczyk (, born August 18, 1987) is a Polish former professional mixed martial artist, Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer. Jędrzejczyk competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she holds several records and is a forme ...

, KO (punch) , Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 69 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:36 ,

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 ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 , Jéssica Andrade , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 , Alexis Davis , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Cage Warriors: 47 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Roxanne Modafferi , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Warriors: 40 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Sally Krumdiack , TKO (punches) , Cage Warriors 39: The Uprising , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:07 ,

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, Ireland , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , Zoila Frausto Gurgel , KO (knee and punches) , Bellator 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 ,

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Valerie Coolbaugh , Submission (armbar) , Bellator 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:40 ,

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Debi Purcell , Decision (split) , ShoXC: Hamman vs. Suganuma 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , Friant, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 ,

, Submission (armbar) , BodogFight: Vancouver , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:49 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Tomomi Sunaba , Technical Decision (unanimous) , BodogFight: Costa Rica , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:05 , San José, Costa Rica , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Carina Damm , Submission (armbar) , BodogFight: St. Petersburg , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:15 ,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

, KO (punch) , World Pro Fighting Championships , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:55 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Dina Van den Hooven , TKO (corner stoppage) , CWFC: Strike Force 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

English Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshi ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Kelli Salone , Submission (armbar) , P & G 1: Pride and Glory 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:45 ,

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Carla O'Sullivan , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CWFC 3: Cage Warriors 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Serena Saunders , Submission (armbar) , CWFC 1: Armageddon , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Angela Boyce , Submission (armbar) , G & S 5: Grapple & Strike 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, England ,

Mixed martial arts achievements

* Cage Warriors Women's 132 lbs Champion (2005) * BodogFight Women's 125 lbs Champion * First

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

woman to fight in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

Personal life

Sexton has one son. In 2010, she qualified as an osteopath after completing her BSc Osteopathy degree at

. She has a passion for climbing and in 2017 climbed the highest artificial climbing wall in the world, Luzzone Dam, in Switzerland. The climb was sponsored for the benefit of the

Mind The mind is that which thinks, feels, perceives, imagines, remembers, and wills. It covers the totality of mental phenomena, including both conscious processes, through which an individual is aware of external and internal circumstances ...

charity. In 2023, Sexton revealed on her personal blog that she had received a diagnosis of

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sexton, Rosi 1977 births Living people British sportsperson-politicians English female mixed martial artists Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners English female taekwondo practitioners English jujutsuka Mixed martial artists utilizing jujutsu Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Flyweight mixed martial artists Cage Warriors champions People educated at Kendrick School People associated with the Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester Alumni of the University of Manchester Osteopaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Bantamweight mixed martial artists British sports physicians Councillors in the West Midlands (county) Green Party of England and Wales parliamentary candidates Green Party of England and Wales councillors English people of Chinese descent Women councillors in England Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters UK councillors 2019–2023 Autistic politicians British politicians with disabilities