Phil
Davis can still see the summit from where he stands and hopes
to someday plant his flag there one more time before he calls it a
career in
Bellator
MMA.
“Mr. Wonderful” will locks horns with “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
19 winner
Corey
Anderson in a
Bellator 297 light heavyweight showcase on Friday at Wintrust
Arena in Chicago. Davis, 38, has rattled off seven victories across
his past nine outings. He last competed at Bellator 276, where he
took a unanimous decision from
Julius
Anglickas in their three-round encounter on March 12, 2022.
As Davis makes final preparations ahead of his upcoming battle with
Anderson at 205 pounds, here are five things you might not know
about him:
1. He already established a reverence-worthy legacy.
Davis was the 16th four-time NCAA All-American wrestler and the
18th national champion in Penn State University history. He
completed his career with the tradition-rich Nittany Lions with a
remarkable 116-20 record. More than 15 years after Davis graduated,
those 116 career victories remain tied for 16th on the school’s
all-time list. He won his national title as a senior in 2008.
2. His transition to the big pond was smooth.
“Mr. Wonderful” made his
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut as an undefeated prospect
at UFC 109, where he outpointed former
World Extreme Cagefighting titleholder
Brian Stann
to a unanimous decision on Feb. 6, 2010. Davis compiled a 9-3
record with one no contest across his 13 appearances with the
company, then signed with Bellator as a big-ticket free agent in
2015. He still ranks in the Top 10 among UFC light heavyweights in
takedowns landed with 31.
3. He belongs to an exclusive club.
Davis laid claim to the undisputed Bellator MMA light heavyweight
championship with a unanimous decision over
Liam
McGeary at Bellator 163 on Nov. 4, 2016. He held the title for
232 days before surrendering it to
Ryan Bader at
Bellator 180 the following June. Davis remains one of only seven
men who have captured the promotion’s 205-pound crown, along with
Bader, McGeary,
Christian
M'Pumbu,
Attila Vegh,
Emanuel
Newton and
Vadim
Nemkov.
4. No one doubts his durability.
The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native has never been finished in his
31-fight career. All six of Davis’ losses—Bader (twice), Nemkov
(twice),
Anthony
Johnson and
Rashad
Evans—have resulted in decisions, including three of the split
variety.
5. Stability has proven beneficial to him.
Davis has spent the past 14 years operating out of the
Alliance MMA camp, where he trains under Eric Del Fierro and
has sharpened his skills alongside a host of accomplished
stablemates, from
Jan
Blachowicz,
Brandon Vera
and
Dominick
Cruz to
Alexander
Gustafsson,
Philip De
Fries and
Jeremy
Stephens.