By Todd Stanford
Phil Davis will step back inside the cage Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for his second fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Davis, a Harrisburg native and a national wrestling champion at Penn State in 2008, is 5-0 as a mixed martial arts fighter. He signed with the UFC late last year and then defeated Scranton's Brian Stann by unanimous decision at UFC 109 in February.
Now Davis is ready for his second fight in the world's top MMA league. On Saturday, at UFC 112, he'll meet Sweden's Alexander Gustafsson in a light-heavyweight battle. Gustafsson, who, at 6-foot-5, is three inches taller than Davis and is also unbeaten at 9-0.
A four-time All-American at Penn State, Davis is yet another top-flight amateur wrestler trying to get a title shot in the UFC. Many of the sport's legends, including Matt Hughes, Chuck "Iceman" Liddell and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson have amateur wrestling backgrounds. But, of the five current UFC champions, only heavyweight Brock Lesnar -- the 2000 NCAA champion at heavyweight while wrestling for Minnesota -- has a traditional wrestling background.
Like many ultimate fighters, Davis has studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and is currently a blue belt. He won the Super Heavyweight title (blue belt division) in the No Gi World Jiu-Jitsu Championship last year in California.
The former Nittany Lion, who's now fighting out of San Jose, comes into the UFC at a time when the light-heavyweight class is particularly deep. Current champ Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida will defend his belt against fellow Brazilian Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in May. Former champs Rashad Evans and Jackson could also be in the mix after they face one another next month. There is also Jon "Bones" Jones, a New York fighter working his way up the ranks.
If Davis keeps moving up the loaded ranks of the UFC, 2010 could be a big year for Pennsylvania fighters in MMA. Sunbury resident Tim Boetsch -- who went 2-2 in the UFC between 2008 and 2009 -- won the light-heavyweight title in the 51/50 Combat League back in January. Boetsch, a Maine native, wrestled in college at Lock Haven and then settled in the Valley. He recently opened a wrestling/MMA gym on Market Street in the city.
Like Davis and Boetsch, current Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight title holder Eddie Alvarez cut his teeth on folkstyle wresting. The Philadelphia native, who's currently 19-2, wrestled at Northeast Catholic High in Philly and is currently the No. 3 ranked lightweight in the world, according to MMA Web site Sherdog.com.
With grapplers like Davis, Boetsch and Alvarez providing inspiration, and with the quality of wrestling in the state, the day could be coming when a Pennsylvanian finally wins a UFC championship belt.
n E-mail comments to tstanford@dailyitem.com
