A Fresh Start for Phil Davis

---

When a fighter suffers through a difficult stretch and loses multiple fights in a row, it makes it much easier for an organization to let the fighter leave when his or her contract is up. However, if the fighter is a consensus top-10 contender, that decision becomes a lot tougher.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship faced that predicament earlier this year with light heavyweight Phil Davis. He had dropped two of his last three fights but is also rated sixth in the most recent edition of the Sherdog.com rankings, and he owns recent wins over the likes of ex-champion Lyoto Machida and former title challenger Glover Teixeira.

In the end, the UFC let Davis go, and Bellator MMA was the beneficiary. “Mr. Wonderful” will make his promotional debut at Bellator 142 on Saturday at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., as he takes on former Bellator light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton in the semifinals of a four-man, one-night tournament that will likely determine the next No. 1 contender at 205 pounds.

The 30-year-old Davis says he understands the UFC’s decision to not retain him, but he is also looking forward to making an impact in Bellator.

“It’s a business,” Davis told Sherdog.com. “I suppose they could have done some things to make it tougher for me to go, but I’ve always been a great employee for them if they needed something. I was one of the guys they could call if they needed anything. I appreciate them for understanding there’s a better opportunity for me here, so here I am.

“I’m absolutely excited,” Davis added. “Right after I signed, [Bellator MMA President] Scott [Coker] called me and introduced himself. He told me he wanted to do something big for my first night in and kick off my Bellator career with a bang. I don’t know if he had it in his mind then to do a tournament. I thought he just meant an awesome card and an awesome fight. This is an awesome weekend, in general. If you’re a diehard, you want to be at this event. It’s groovy.”

The tournament includes Davis, Newton, Muhammad Lawal and Linton Vassell and serves as primary support to the main event, a 205-pound title fight between defending champion Liam McGeary and UFC hall of famer Tito Ortiz. Davis claims preparing for the possibility of two fights in one night has not been much different physically, especially due to his extensive collegiate wrestling background. He thinks the preparation for him is more mental.

“Camp’s been going good,” Davis said. “I’m excited and can’t wait to jump on the scene in Bellator and let the fans know who I am. The biggest difference for this camp is just mentally being prepared and knowing that an hour after my first fight, when I’m ready for a nap and some ibuprofen, I’m going to have to be ready to fight again. It’s just being able to re-focus and get ready and know that it’s coming. That’s the biggest thing.”

Newton’s unconventional style will present a difficult challenge for Davis, who admits he will have to stay within himself if he wants to move on in the tournament.

“I’ve watched a lot of his fights before I came into Bellator,” said Davis, who was a four-time NCAA All- American at Penn State University and won a national championship at 197 pounds in 2008. “He does a lot of things I think are cool. When you’re fighting someone like him, you just want to stick to what you know. He does some crazy things, but they’re not crazy to him. He just gets after it with unconventional techniques. It’s just staying tough and staying smart. Knowing something unexpected could happen is big in and of itself. I have to give him a lot of credit. He’s very good with [the spinning backfist] and he sets it up well in different situations and scenarios, so you have to be smart on how you fight him.”

Davis, who went 9-3 with one no-contest under the UFC banner, said he has no preference about who he faces in the finals, provided he gets past Newton. Instead, he plans to take it one fight at a time.

“There isn’t necessarily one fighter I want to see in the finals,” said Davis, who trains out of the Alliance MMA camp. “I don’t let my mind get off the task at hand. Right now, he is the guy who I have to fight. After I beat him, then I’m in the tournament. If I don’t win, then I’m not in the tournament. That’s the most important fight for me right now.”