UFC 133: How close will a win for Phil Davis get him to a title shot?

by Lesnar's striking coach on Jul 11, 2011 12:20 PM EDT

Phil-davis_medium
Mr.Wonderful to Mr. number one contender?

Phil Davis is set to face announced number one contender Rashad Evans in Philadelphia, PA at UFC 133 on August 6th, 2011 . Davis, will put his undefeated streak against the former Ultimate Fighter season 2 winner and 1x light heavyweight champion in the main event.

UFC president Dana White has stated that Evans was the number one contender last spring when he was able to ride out a decision win over Quinton Jackson at UFC 114. Evans, was set to face Jon Jones after Jones upended Mauricio Rua earlier this year at UFC 126 for the light heavyweight strap. A hand injury forced a delay to the planned bout and now Evans will pull a 'Chuck Liddell' and risk his title shot against wrestler Phil Davis.

The underdog Phil Davis has sure shown to have the tools to beat Rashad Evans but, if he doesn in fact beat Rashad Evans would he garner a number one contenders shot?

Let's get it on!

Davis (9-0) has quickly ran up the ladder of the light heavyweight division and dispatched some very noteworthy adversaries. He holds wins over Briant Stann, Alexander Gustaffson, Tim Boetsch and a main event win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in his first main event at UFC Fight Night Live: Davis vs. Nogueira.

The one win which really put Davis on the map came at UFC 123 when he dismantled Tim Boetsch by way of domination or as Bruce Buffer said 'Kimura at 2:55 of the second round'. The submission gave 'submission of the night' and a very cool $80,000 to his purse.

The other win that made Davis a name was his wrestling prowess used against 'Lil Nog' in his first main slot. He outwrestled 'Lil Nog' for three whole rounds scoring 30-27 on all three judges scorecards. The on question was Davis' striking though it looked improved he still has not found how to really use his reach. At 79" his reached is really only bested by current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. At 205 pounds most if not all light heavyweights should be able to hit hard at that sheer size so, if Davis can really commit to learning and honing his stand he may infact be the one to beat the seemingly unstoppable Jonny 'Bones' Jones.

Davis, trains out of Alliance MMA which was founded by Brandon Vera and is led by head trainers Eric Del Fierro,
Adrian Melendez and Lew Polley The interesting aspect of Alliance MMA that it has held or has some of the most promising light heavyweight prospects in Davis and Alex Gustaffsson and Brandon Vera. Davis'association with strikers Vera and Gustaffson should only benefit Davis. The size and reach between the three is very similar so each can benefit from having similar targeting distance.

So, the question remians; If Davis beats Evans, how close to the light heavyweight title is he?

Let's examine the top heard as it is right now. At UFC135: (c) Jon Jones faces Quinton Jackson, Forrest Griffin rematches up with Shogun Rua and 'Lil Nog faces Rich Franklin also at UFC 133. The remaining spares are Tito Ortiz who just beat Ryan Bader, Lyoto Machida who just beat Randy Couture and Ryan Bader.

If 'Suga' beats Davis his number one contender status remains in tact but if Davis wins the window opens. Based on estimation the window is down to the outcomes of Griffin-Rua and Eavsn-Davis. If Davis unseeds Davis then he may infact be the infact facing the winner of the UFC 135 title tilt. If Griffin beats Rua (again) he may get by based on his popularity and it would be back to back wins.

I think the window in reality to see who faces the winner of Jones-Ramoage is down to Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans. If Evans loses and Griffin wins, i expect Griffin versus the Jackson/Jones winner and if Evans wins and Griffin wins, Evans will remain the top contender.

The longshot is if Davis beats Rashad and Griffin loses we may see a shot up the ladder for the Davis-Jones fight.

The UFC golden brick road has many paths it would seem.

Facts are this, Davis is the closest animal to Jon Jones when it come sto build and dominance. Davis has shown to be the better submission grappler and has near perfect wrestling. He has beaten a legen (Lil Nog), a proven tough guy (Boetsch) and a top prospect (Gustaffson). He has zero losses and he is about to face his first top 5 fighter in the world, can he leap the top dog?.

What do you think Maniacs'?

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Comments

Agree 100% with your assessment

but the Cain/Brock fight proved to me that elite wrestling will get beaten by very good wrestling and better all-around skills most times. Davis is not ready for Shad. his striking is leagues below Shad and Shad might be the better MMA wrestler.

They should have matched Davis with another wrestler @ 205 before throwing him in the deep end. Hammill or Vladdy would have told us if he is ready.

Last of the hopeless fools

by Ulf Murphy on Jul 11, 2011 12:41 PM EDT reply actions

who doesn't love the Janitor?

I’d love Franklin-Tito but wouldn’t Vlad-Franklin be bad ass?

Ya Shad is way too disrespected by people who put personality over talent. I think the fight will be a grind for last ten second takedowns FTW!. As long as this is a war of attrition it should be dandy

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by Lesnar's striking coach on Jul 11, 2011 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

I think Shad boxes Davis' face off until the RD2 TKO.

and I would LOVE to see Vlad/Franklin. I don’t ever need to see Tito fight again, unless I am guaranteed to not have to see any stupid quotes from him afterwards.

Last of the hopeless fools

by Ulf Murphy on Jul 11, 2011 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Vlad will retire

the most under appreciated legend for sure.

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by Lesnar's striking coach on Jul 11, 2011 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions

IDK

he doesn’t quite reach legend status for me. Other than a win against a very young Lil Nog, Vlad never seemed to beat the elite guys he faced.

He is in the boat with Monson as a guy that will give you a great test, but never will be great, IMO.

Last of the hopeless fools

by Ulf Murphy on Jul 11, 2011 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions

love monson and vlad

but i 100% agree with you

"This could be the worst disaster we've ever faced"
"With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour"

by magicmike on Jul 11, 2011 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions

VLaddyyyyy :-)

by amsterdam on Jul 11, 2011 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Davis wants to get in close and use his reach advantage

"ever heard of a tune up? tee hee hee hee
"ah hee hee hee ever heard of a ritual killing? tee hee hee hee"
"i dont get it"
"you gnaw on her face in public like that again and you'll be one tee hee hee hee"

by scott1 on Jul 11, 2011 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions

idk if i can agree with that

given what you just said, i believe youre putting cain in the category of just very good wrestling? when youre a multiple time NCAA division 1 all-american, id say youre elite

"This could be the worst disaster we've ever faced"
"With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour"

by magicmike on Jul 11, 2011 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions

on paper

who is the better wrestler? That was my point. Cain was an elite freestyle wrestler, but never won the big one.

Davis, on paper, is a better wrestler than Shad, but Shad has adapted what he does to MMA much more thoroughly than Davis. Hell, your boy has the best freestyle credentials at 185, and a win over Davis at NCAA’s. That doesn’t mean I would favor him in an MMA fight over an MMA wrestler like Sonnen or Okami at this point.

Last of the hopeless fools

by Ulf Murphy on Jul 11, 2011 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions

lol i'm waiting for Stun Gun vs. Okami at Dream or Segoku or now Pro Elite lol

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by Lesnar's striking coach on Jul 11, 2011 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions

i see what your saying

the point i was trying to make though was that the disparity between cain and brock is not as significant as the disparity between davis and shad…and fyi, i would take chris over chael today if i got put on the spot, i wouldnt be as confident picking him against okami though

"This could be the worst disaster we've ever faced"
"With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour"

by magicmike on Jul 11, 2011 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Leben?

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by Lesnar's striking coach on Jul 11, 2011 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions

true

Shad was not even a good NCAA wrestler.

While I think you are daft for thinking that, I respect your opinion on all other things MMA to believe that i am grossly underestimating Chris at this point and should be MUCH more excited to watch him grow. Have you heard any rumors for his next fight?

Last of the hopeless fools

by Ulf Murphy on Jul 11, 2011 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions

if it's Chris Leben

Munoz,Okami (if he losses and i was talking to Pat and maybe we see Lawler jump over (that’s a big big maybe)

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by Lesnar's striking coach on Jul 11, 2011 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Weidman. Mike trains with him.

Last of the hopeless fools

by Ulf Murphy on Jul 11, 2011 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions

oh for real?

i was lost my bad. Thats pretty gnarly and ya that cat is damn good.

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by Lesnar's striking coach on Jul 11, 2011 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Check out his 2009 ADCC match with Galvao when you get a chance

Last of the hopeless fools

by Ulf Murphy on Jul 11, 2011 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions

i don't watch much ADCC

i like regional mma more lol but i shall and i will

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by Lesnar's striking coach on Jul 11, 2011 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions

longo-serra's

the kid that fucking destroyed legionarious and choked that other guy

fedor > gsp > a. silva
it's much more impressive to control a guy like fitch for 5 rounds than it is to beat leites in any fashion. The quality of opposition tells a story as well.

by vhw_ on Jul 11, 2011 1:32 PM EDT up reply actions