Phil
Davis is in a bit of a purgatory with Bellator MMA at this
point in his career.
“Mr. Wonderful” remains the clear-cut No. 2 in the promotion at
light heavyweight following his unanimous decision triumph against
Julius
Anglickas in the Bellator 276 co-main event at the Family Arena
in St. Louis, Mo., on Saturday. Unfortunately, there appears to be
no clear path to the top of the division as long as Vadim
Nemkov is champion, due to Davis’ two decision losses to the
reigning title holder.
Another interesting option would seemingly be to move to
heavyweight, where former rival Ryan Bader
sits atop the division following a grueling title defense against
Valentin
Moldavsky at Bellator 273 in January. Davis is also 0-2 against
Bader by the narrowest of margins, with a pair of split-decision
defeats to the Arizona native – one in Bellator and one in the
UFC.
At the moment, Davis doesn’t seem too interested in leaving the
light heavyweight division. For the time being, Davis is content to
simply defeat the next man up.
“I’ve got to go up to heavyweight to fight Bader, and to tell you
the truth, he looks fairly unstoppable at heavyweight,” Davis said
at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I hate to say it. I
hate to say it, but I’m going to call a spade a spade. So if he
brings his butt back down, I’ll have my chance.
“Honestly, it’s just about beating whoever’s in front of me. I love
fighting, I love preparing, I love training. I want to beat
whoever’s in the cage with me.”
Since 2015, Davis’ only four defeats have come at the hands of
Nemkov and Bader. When the topic of a move to heavyweight was
revisited later in the presser, the 37-year-old Alliance MMA
product wouldn’t completely rule out a transition. Still, he admits
that light heavyweight is probably the ideal place for him.
“Anything’s possible. If God made him and he walks on two feet,
I’ll fight him. But Mr. Bader looks tremendous at heavyweight. I’m
very proud of his last fight. He looks like a savage,” Davis
said.
“I think I’m better suited for 205. I’ve been this size since I was
17 years old. This is my frame. I’ve added a little bit more meat
to my upper body, but this is pretty much my frame. “