TO – Heres what we know after watching R.A. Dickey for a seas

LAS VEGAS -- The diagonal scar on the bridge of Alexis Daviss nose seems par for the course for a UFC fighter. The story behind the mark predates cage-fighting, however. "It was from when I was a kid, actually," the Canadian bantamweight admitted with a smile. "I was playing around with my sister. I say she pushed me, but she says I tripped." The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., who fights out of San Jose, has had her share of fight cuts that have morphed into scars. But they are hidden nicely by her eyebrows. The other good news is blood does not bother Davis. In fact, it can spur her into action as in a November 2013 win over Liz Carmouche when she turned it up a notch after being cut over her eye. "It kind of wakes you up a little bit more. Youre like, Yup, that was a good shot. Now its my turn," said Davis. Suffice to say, theres more to the soft-spoken Davis than meets the eye. That seems to have escaped the bookmakers, who have made unbeaten champion (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey a prohibitive favourite to dispatch Davis -- ranked No. 2 among 135-pound contenders -- in the co-main event of UFC 175 on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Middleweight champion Chris Weidman takes on former light-heavyweight title-holder Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida in the main event. Rousey (9-0) ranged from a 9-1 to 14-1 favourite as of Friday. The UFC had her as a 10-1 favourite. The bookies clearly havent been to Daviss home, which comes complete with fold-up wrestling mats stashed in the living room. When youre an elite UFC fighter and married to a fellow black belt in jiu-jitsu, you like to be able to put a theory in action when something new and exciting pops into your mind. Davis (16-5) met husband-to-be Flavio Meier three years ago at his gym in California. An accomplished black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (his titles include the 2011 Pan-American championship for black belts) and taekwondo, he is a head instructor at the Institute of Martial Arts in San Jose. Meier, who moved to the U.S. from Brazil in 1999, says it was love at first sight -- for him. "But I had to work a little bit for her," he said. That was three years ago. They married a year ago, with Meiers three boys -- now aged four, 10 and 13 -- from a previous marriage coming as part of the package. "Its another side of her that a lot of people dont know," he said. "How caring and what a great person she is. The kids love her." The 39-year-old Meier says Daviss healthy lifestyle and work ethic are great examples for the kids. The whole family trains at the gym -- even the four-year-old takes a kids class. "Hes got a dangerous armbar," joked Davis. Meier says he finds it a lot easier competing himself than watching his wife fight. "I get nervous. I dont show her but I do get nerves a lot," he said. When it comes to jiu-jitsu, both say the other is better. "He always says that I beat him up but he beats me up all the time," said Davis, who has a black belt in both Brazilian and Japanese jiu-jitsu. "Im not saying this in bias because shes my wife, but to me she is the best in the world in jiu-jitsu," said Meier. "In MMA, for sure." The 27-year-old Rousey, however, is the UFCs resident rock star. At the UFCs media day Thursday, more than a dozen reporters and four cameras were waiting in front of Rouseys chair in advance of the start. There was one Canadian reporter in front of Daviss station. Davis has no complaints. The spotlight is new to her and, while not averse to it, she is still getting used to it. "Im just a girl from a small town," she said. "Its crazy the different steps Ive taken in my life and how far Ive come. All the way to California now. Im in a video game. How cool is that? Its incredible, its almost like unreal to me. But its great. I love it." Davis has enjoyed every stop of her MMA journey. "Lifes an adventure," she said. "Its taken me to a lot of places and Ive met great people." In Rousey, she is meeting a finisher. The champion has never gone the distance and her average fight time over her night-fight career is just two minutes 44 seconds. Rousey has used her judo takedown successfully in 12 of 17 attempts in the UFC for a 70.6 per cent success rate (the average UFC takedown rate is 41 per cent.) On the Davis side of the balance, the Canadian has never been submitted in 21 fights. She has outlanded her five previous opponents and scores well in the clinch. Asked about the showdown, former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion B.J. Penn lists off Rouseys strengths and successes. "What Alexis should have is a lot of hunger to be that woman and thats how she can get the job done," he said. A veteran of the sport, Davis had compiled a 9-4 record before Rousey made her pro MMA debut in March 2011. Davis made her pro debut in April 2007, losing by TKO to fellow Canadian Sarah Kaufman. Davis lost again to Kaufman, now ranked fifth among UFC bantamweight contenders, by majority decision in Strikeforce in March 2012. She says the second Kaufman showcased the old Alexis Davis -- "Im just going out there and Im just going to bang and I dont care what happens. You kind of take a lot of shots that way." Davis has won five fights in a row since, coinciding with her move to California and ability to take advantage of a larger and more diverse pool of training partners. She worked with Cesar Gracie before settling at the Institute of Martial Arts, owned by eight-time jiu-jitsu world champion Caio Terra who will be in her corner Saturday along with Meier. Davis added two-hour trips twice a week to Sacramento to her training camp this time, to work on her wrestling with Uriah Fabers Team Alpha Male. The thought is wrestling may help control the explosive throws of Rousey, who won Olympic bronze in judo. "They always say that wrestling is like the anti-judo," said Davis. But Davis, who speaks of Rousey with real respect, says its hard to prepare for the champion because Rousey evolves every time she fights. "Its like a whole new Ronda were seeing every time," said Davis. While Rousey is known for her armbar, she has good standup and stopped Sara McMann with a knee to the body. "I want the fight to go to the ground," said Davis. "I just want it to go on my terms." But she says she is comfortable wherever the fight goes. Davis has worked hard on her standup game and has good kicks, although she says she sometimes forgets to use them. The five-foot-six Canadian believes the fight will either end in the first round or go five rounds. The two women have shown plenty of mutual respect, exchanging a warm handshake after posing in front of the media Thursday. Rousey and Davis are the only female fighters to go 3-0 in the UFC. But while Rousey has made movies ("The Expendables 3," "Entourage" and "Fast and Furious 7"), earned ESPY Award nominations and appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine, Davis has flown under the radar. Asked whether she has treated herself with any of her UFC fight paycheques, Davis admits only to buying a new TV. "Were kind of saving up," she said. "Id like to eventually buy a house." A win Saturday would make Davis only the third Canadian to hold a UFC title, following Carlos (Ronin) Newton and Georges St-Pierre. It would also change her world. Despite the lopsided odds, Meier says bet on it. "Saturday shes going to shock the world," he said. "I know this for sure." Will Barton Nuggets Jersey .28 mph. Logano will start on the front row next to Penske Ford teammate Brad Keselowski, who came in second Friday at 193.099. The Penske drivers swept the top two spots for the second straight race, reversing their qualifying finish in Phoenix a week ago. Gary Harris Jersey . "Im proud of him," Jones said in an interview from Sacramento, site of the UFCs weekend televised card. "I think hes listening to his body and hes doing what makes him happy and thats what life is about ultimately. http://www.authenticnuggetsproshop.com/Jamal-Murray-Jersey/ . -- Max Gilbert captured his first pro victory at the Tour Championship of Canada. Gary Harris Nuggets Jersey . -- Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que. Nikola Jokic Jersey . Never caused problems. Never raised a ruckus. Never got sick or hurt while frolicking in the fields of Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky.TORONTO – Heres what we know after watching R.A. Dickey for a season and a half in a Blue Jays uniform: we dont know. Who knows what to expect from a pitch, the knuckleball, that in one moment confounds a hitter and in the next is traveling, with plenty of spin, more than 400 feet in the opposite direction? Who knows how to manage a knuckleball pitcher? When is the right time to remove him from the game? These guys dont tire as quickly because they dont strain their arms and you cant predict when the pitch is going to flatten out just that once, which could be the difference in the game. All of the above came in to play in Friday nights 5-4 loss to the White Sox, a game in which Dickey no-hit Chicago for four innings but left without recording an out in the seventh. By then hed allowed five hits, four of which landed on the other side of the outfield fence. Actually, three of them did. One of them hit the foul pole. “One less home run, we win that game,” said Dickey. “Its just a really bizarre outing to strike out nine guys, get all those swings and misses on what I felt like was a really good knuckleball tonight.” Then, some home run talk. “Three of the four home runs were possibly mistakes, two I know,” said Dickey. “Normally, theyre a foul ball here or a miss hit here, but they just didnt miss them tonight.” Jose Abreu and Dayan Viciedo hit solo home runs in the fifth to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead. Those were Chicagos first two hits of the evening. The Blue Jays bounced back with back-to-back solo home runs in the sixth, one from Edwin Encarnacion and the other off the bat of Dioner Navarro.dddddddddddd. Dickey, sporting an 11.81 ERA in the seventh inning this season, couldnt give his team the shutdown frame it needed. Abreu clubbed his second home run of the night to lead off and, after Adam Dunn walked, Alexei Ramirez clanked a two-run shot off the left field foul pole. The knuckleballers night, so promising two innings before, was over. In six-plus innings, Dickey allowed five earned runs on five hits (four home runs) and one walk. He struck out nine. He was so good and then he wasnt. Theres no discernible pattern outside of his bloated fifth (9.39) and seventh inning ERAs and who knows what to make of those? Dickeys ERA in the sixth is 2.38. “I thought his knuckleball was as good as its been,” said manager John Gibbons. Then, some home run talk. “Its a pitch that can come and go,” said Gibbons. “I mean, one inning it can disappear, one hitter it can disappear and all of a sudden it clicks in. Its tough.” Then, he offered an admission: its hard to determine what to do with Dickey as a game wears on. “Its a totally different way to manage a game,” said Gibbons. “But hes here to win games for us and he needs to stay out there.” Dickeys loss on Friday night dropped his season record to 6-7. His ERA climbed from 4.04 to 4.24. In 51 appearances with the Blue Jays in a season and a half, Dickeys allowed 51 home runs. His win-loss record: 20-20. So there is some symmetry amid the unpredictability. ' ' '