Jan-31-2010

Phil Davis – The Dinner Table King Seeks a New Conquest

Affliction Randy Couture UFC 109 Walkout T-shirt Related Products UFC 109 Autographed Poster Forrest Griffin Mouse Pad UFC 109: Couture v. Coleman DVD UFC 11 x 17 Sign - Chuck Liddell Related News Charles Oliveira – Just One Man to Beat Munoz’ Winning Mindset Key to His Success Uncovering the mysteries of Igor Pokrajac The Doomsday Doctrine – It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over Steve Steinbeiss - Ready for Redemption Headlines Charles Oliveira – Just One Man to Beat Munoz’ Winning Mindset Key to His Success Fighters confirmed for UFC Fan Expo in Boston Uncovering the mysteries of Igor Pokrajac Jones primed for career-changing fight - Houston Chron

By Thomas Gerbasi

The prized prospect. Current light heavyweight contender Brandon Vera has been one before - 4-0 as a pro and a rookie with plenty of expectations placed on his shoulders even before he stepped into the UFC’s Octagon for the first time. It’s a situation few can fathom, simply because few have been in those shoes.

So when Phil Davis makes his UFC debut this Saturday night against Brian Stann at UFC 109 in Las Vegas, he is coming armed not only with an identical 4-0 record and similar expectations, but with the words of ‘The Truth’ ringing in his ears.

“He’s definitely shed a little knowledge on what to look out for and what to steer clear of,” said Davis of the advice he’s received from his current training partner. “He also told me to remember that I’m in shape and that I won’t have anything to worry about. As soon as they say your name you’re gonna be all excited, so just remember that you trained hard and that when you start to feel tired, you’re not really tired.”

The 25-year old Davis chuckles, as if he’s wondering how he’ll be able to pull off that feat should he get brought late into the fight against Stann, a former WEC light heavyweight champion. But he’s just being modest, and we can assume that because Davis isn’t just some kid who has put together some impressive early wins on the local circuit before getting a shot in the UFC. On the contrary, Davis made his name in the sporting world before he ever put on the gloves, as a four-time All-American, two-time Big Ten champion, and 2008 NCAA Division I National Wrestling Champion for Penn State. It’s the same road traveled by Brock Lesnar, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman and Josh Koscheck, just to name a few, so when that National Championship is next to your name, big things are expected.

Yet Davis’ road to becoming a pro mixed martial artist began even before he hit the mats at Penn State. It started in his home back in Harrisburg, when the 10-year old Davis engaged in nightly battles with his older brothers (two and three years older) for the two chairs at the dinner table.

“It gives you that fighting mentality,” said Davis. “I should lose. I was aging at the same speed my brothers are, but for some reason I gained an extra day and that day made me stronger. So I’m gonna try again today.”

By the time he was 12, Davis proudly declares that he was “eating dinner almost every night,” but it wasn’t as if this was an epiphany that led him to dump his books and hit the gym. Instead, Davis hit his studies and athletics with an equal intensity, and the results showed on the mat and in his grades. But by the time his Penn State career was nearing to a close, he started to realize that the next step for him athletically would be one that would bring him to the UFC.

“I knew before I got done wrestling what I was going to do next,” he said, and he wasn’t going to do it as a hobby or a part-time gig. The Kinesiology major was going to go all in on his new vocation.

“As soon as I started saying this is what I’m gonna do, my mind was made up and there was no second-guessing whether I should coach part-time or do this or that,” he said. “I had to be all the way in or all the way out.”

After a few amateur fights, Davis turned pro in October of 2008 with a decision win over Brett Chism. Three first round wins in 2009 followed, bringing us to Saturday’s bout with Stann, a fighter whose raw edges have been smoothed out by trainer Greg Jackson, making “All-American” a lot more dangerous when the bell rings.

“He’s a veteran fighter, he’s got a lot of skills, and he’s pretty versatile,” said Davis of Stann, who has won two in a row. “I see a gamer, somebody who’s gonna have some variety and who’s going to be able to throw me a couple different looks and he’ll probably do so.”

Davis isn’t worried though, confident in his training camp after a chance meeting with Vera led to a friendship and a relocation to San Diego, where he works at the Alliance Training Center which is home to, among others, ‘The Truth’, and WEC contenders Dominick Cruz, Ed Ratcliff, and Rolando Perez.

He’s also avoided the temptation to start reading message boards and positive press clippings, saying with a laugh that he “stopped looking at the internet about a week after Christmas.” Combine it all with his undeniable talent and a work ethic that he claims is a necessity (“Everything’s hard work for me. I’ve never been accused of being coordinated.”), and Phil Davis may end up being a name we’re talking about in this sport for a long time.

Time will eventually tell that tale, though one thing’s for sure, and that ‘Mr. Wonderful’ won’t ever have to fight for a seat at the dinner table again.

“It kind of changed the family dynamic,” he smiles. “I think in most families the little brother might be good at sports or something, but the older brothers will say ‘no matter what, I’ll always be better.’ That faded a long time ago. (Laughs) They (his brothers) are real supportive though, and they like what I’m doing.”