Former Penn State wrestler Phil Davis steps into the national spotlight tonight when he enters the octagon for the main event on "UFC on Fox 2." The show airs live on Fox beginning at 8 p.m.
Davis, 27, a Harrisburg native who won an NCAA title for the Nittany Lions at 197 pounds in 2008, will face Rashad Evans in a light heavyweight bout in Chicago. Davis, who now lives and trains in California, began fighting in mixed martial arts in 2008. He's 5-0 in the UFC (9-0 overall), but hasn't fought since a unanimous-decision victory over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira last March. He was supposed to fight Evans last August in Philadelphia, but a knee injury forced Davis off of the card.
"I was bumming, man, I was really bumming," Davis told the Philadelphia Daily News. "I still wish this fight could have gone down in Philly. I was upset I had to tell all my family and friends that were coming that I wasn't going after it."
Now, Davis, a three-time state place-winner in wrestling while at Harrisburg High School (he finished as high as fourth twice), is fighting the former UFC champ in one of the biggest cards in the history of the sport. The UFC, the biggest promotion in mixed martial arts, signed a seven-year deal with Fox last year. The first event in November, which featured Junior Dos Santos taking the heavyweight title from Cain Velasquez, attracted 9 million viewers.
But this event will show whether or not those fans who tuned in out of curiosity back in November will come back for more. And the former Nittany Lion gets to fight in the main event for an extremely important show.
Although Evans (21-1-1) has been guaranteed a title shot against current belt holder Jon Jones if he wins tonight, Davis has no such guarantee. In fact, conventional wisdom holds that should Davis win tonight, then former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson will get a crack at Jones first.
"Sure, I think about being the champion, that's what I am in this game for," Davis told the Daily News. "But as corny as it sounds, it's really one fight at a time and I have at least two more fights to go before I can say that. This is what I am in this business for. I don't want to waste time going after it. I have no regrets and I can honestly say I am ready to get in there and do what I do best."
What Davis has done best since entering the sport is outwrestle his opponents. That's been good and bad, as some say he can't trade blows with the best in the sport. Evans, a former wrestler himself at Michigan State, has knockout power, as evidenced by his KO of UFC legend Chuck Liddell back in 2008.
Davis may not have demonstrated that one-punch power yet in the UFC, but he has finished a majority of his fights, including submission wins over rising star Alexander Gustafsson -- still the only loss the Swede has endured -- and Sunbury's own Tim Boetsch.
Should Davis get a win tonight, be it by decision, knockout or submission, he'll cement his status as a rising star in the UFC firmament.
