UFC 112: Dave Davis vs Alexander Gustafsson?
by Jesse Holland on Apr 7, 2010 1:32 PM EDT
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Props: Sherdog.com
Quoteworthy:
"I don't even know what my style is to tell you the truth. I definitely have a couple of different looks. The one you saw against Brian Stann, I call that ‘Phil.' It's very hard to finish, very rugged. The one I'm going to use in Abu Dhabi I call that ‘Dave,' it's more of a spring look, a little bit softer. I use it mostly just for catalogs and just a finesse kind of thing I do. I shouldn't even be talking about that yet, it's not even done yet ... You guys aren't going to want to call me Phil ‘Mr. Wonderful' anymore. It's going to be ‘Phil' and ‘Dave' and become two completely different people. I don't know what this joker is going to throw at me. I saw a training video of him throwing seven different kinds of smoke and that was in practice. The way I see, I'm not even going to play games with him. I'm going to go in there, get smooth on him, take him down nice and smooth lock up an arm triangle, maybe transition to armbar, bring him back up, knees, knees, knees, elbows, takedown, high kick, low kick, bada bing. Real solid technique stuff. That's all you're going to see out of me."
Up-and-coming light heavyweight prospect Phil, I mean uh, "Dave" Davis is unveiling a new look for his UFC 112 fight against Alexander Gustafsson when the two hook 'em up on the undercard in Abu Dhabi this Saturday (April 10). The artist formerly known as "Mr. Wonderful" was an impressive collegiate wrestler that has so far remained undefeated in his mixed martial arts endeavors (5-0) including his unanimous decision win over the venerable Brian Stann at February's UFC 109 event in Las Vegas. Is it too early to call him the future of the sport? Or should we wait and see if Dave is as good as Phil?
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he pulled a sherk and huggie except he was in mount for the whole fight.
i like Alexander Gustafsson, i’ll be rooting for him
My breakout fighter for this coming year: Terry Etim
Upset of the Year: John Hathaway over Diego Sanchez
"Yeah, hes getting molested here." -Joe Rogan at UFC on VS 1
Stann was absolutely helpless the entire fight, and David Davey McDavis couldn’t do anything with it.
The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful
I haven't seen anything from Gustafsson
but I’m willing to bet that as soon as the fight starts, Phil is going to forget all about ‘Dave’ and just revert to his base. I think in the moment he won’t be trying to be ‘smooth’ with his BJJ, but instead just maintain position on the ground and fight like he did against Stann. I’d definitely like to see something different from him, because his fight with Stann was underwhelming to say the least. What have you seen of Gustafsson, Synyster? I hope he has some serious takedown defense because if not I don’t think this fight stays on the feet very long.
I've only seen his UFC debut vs Jared Hamman at 105
He blasted him in the first round and won by KO. The fact that Hamman just won a fight in which he took like 36 bombs on the chin makes Alex’s 1st round KO more impressive.
But yeah, that one fight that lasted about 2 minutes is all i got, but it made me a fan.
My breakout fighter for this coming year: Terry Etim
Upset of the Year: John Hathaway over Diego Sanchez
"Yeah, hes getting molested here." -Joe Rogan at UFC on VS 1
This is a really tough break for Gustaffson. The guy has big potential but is being thrown in there with a guy who is probably going to plant him on his back and nullify his striking.
The UFC should bring him along more slowly and give him a chance to show the North American fan his skills. Careers are ruined this way. Bad matchmaking IMO.
"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once."
Julius Caesar (II, ii, 32-37)
by Jeremyjackson on Apr 7, 2010 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions
how
How can a career be ruined with a bad match up? If you are good enough to be in the UFC then you should be able to fight other up and comers in the ufc. If wrestling is that hard for Gustaffson to counter then maybe he shouldn’t do mma.
by Darren Watkins on Apr 7, 2010 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions
I just think both guys should be built up. They’re both great prospects .
We have a shitload of elite wrestlers in the UFC and not very many high-end strikers. I think Gustaffson should get to make a name for himself against some guys where he can showcase his skills.
It’s like matching up Jones and Bader in their first UFC fights. Someone is going to have to climb their way back up and it’s too early IMO.
"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once."
Julius Caesar (II, ii, 32-37)
by Jeremyjackson on Apr 7, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
I can agree it would be nice to protect guys and build up there name, but at the same time you cant protect people for only so long. With more and more new fighters to the sport I dont think the ufc can really worry to much about who is weak in a certain area and who isnt.
MMA to me is evolving at a rapid pace and if fighter cant counter wrestling then he is in the wrong sport. I really cant wait for the day when an elite striker with good take down D comes to the sport. The Ice man is a good example of a good striker that uses wrestling to stay standing, but he still isnt on the level of some really elite boxers.
by Darren Watkins on Apr 7, 2010 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions
but at the same time you cant protect people for only so long.
I don’t even mean to protect them per se… just give them a veteran mid-level opponent so that we can continue to watch them climb the ladder and earn their UFC stripes. Then match them up if you want.
The Ice man is a good example of a good striker that uses wrestling to stay standing, but he still isnt on the level of some really elite boxers
Right. But seeing as their basically aren’t any elite boxers in the UFC — I like to see a good kickboxer get a fair shake.
"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once."
Julius Caesar (II, ii, 32-37)
by Jeremyjackson on Apr 7, 2010 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree. Don’t shelter them ,but don’t put two unproven prospects against one another. Not only does it put one of them down but it also doesn’t tell us anything about the winner because the beat an essentially unknown commodity. For example I think Phil Davis would annihilate Rashad Evans and a matchup like that would be far more interesting to me than Phil taking out a fellow prospect. But if ppl aren’t comfortable putting Davis into the mix yet then give him a solid test such as Jardine or Matyushenko.
Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?
Well said, frosnt. Good examples too.
"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once."
Julius Caesar (II, ii, 32-37)
by Jeremyjackson on Apr 7, 2010 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions
I was pissed to see the fight with Stann.
He does remind me of Rashad Evans though.
Zoolander
He’s quoting Zoolander almost word for word here. Simply replacing “blue steel” and “magnum” with “phil” and “dave”. Make more sense now? He’s trying to be funny. I’m impartial cause I’m tired. You guys decide if he’s funny or not.
World Worb 3
by daniel worby on Apr 7, 2010 1:56 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
glad you caught that worby
I was just about to post the same thing, but this is strait Zoolander and I was cracking up
by fightfan51 on Apr 7, 2010 2:23 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
haha
Most of the time phil davis sits around wondering what trees are made of
by fightfan51 on Apr 7, 2010 2:54 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
lmao
gotta love guys that can just sit there and quote a movie without people even realizing it. I too caught Zoolander right away and was cracking up.
you dont like my eugoogily? a eugoogilizer, one who speaks at a funeral.
World Worb 3
by daniel worby on Apr 7, 2010 2:48 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
how can we teach the children to read if they cant even fit inside of the building!?!?
by fightfan51 on Apr 7, 2010 2:56 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
What is this? A school for ants? This needs to be at least three times bigger!
The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful
lmao thats one of the best P-dub "at least three times bigger"
i think i got the black lung pop feeble cough feeble cough
by Blunt n' Beer on Apr 7, 2010 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions
I really hope Alex manages to knock this guy out, I’m from the same small town in Sweden as he is. He’s supposed to have good wrestling to go with his great boxing, but probably not on the same level as Davis. I too would’ve liked to see him not matched against a strong wrestler just yet, but it is what is.
I like Davis and he has potential
I am gonna cut Davis some slack on that fight versus Stann. He was dominant. He never really LnP’d; he was active and punished him, just didn’t finish. He is still relatively new following his wrestling career and should continue to progress. And he has personality and is funny. He mentioned the “seven different kinds of smoke” after his win vs. Stann, too. That is from “You, Me, and Dupree”. I work with a ton of people and none of them are movie-quoters. I drop a line and it is nothing but crickets. Any guy that has some humor and can deliver a good quote can’t be all bad.
Anyone recall Krystoff’s post-fight interview after his first win? I laughed when he started doing the Ricky Bobby thing with his hands from Talladega Nights. Rogan even asked him what was with his hands.
by Mayhem chimpanzee on Apr 7, 2010 9:07 PM EDT reply actions
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