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By Shawn Smith



The Phil Davis of 2017 isn’t the same Phil Davis of 2010. He’ll be the first person to tell you that.



When Davis debuted at UFC 109, the lanky, fresh-faced former NCAA wrestling champion at 197 pounds had the kind of off beat, hilarious personality that felt amiss in the fight game. And while he remains an outgoing man at 32, it’s clear from conversation that Davis has grown and matured into a far more straight-forward fighter than he was at 25.



It isn’t just Davis’ personality that has matured.



“Five or seven years ago I was a lot younger, not only in terms of age but in terms of fighting,” Davis said. “This game takes a toll on you. Everything has to be more precise. I don’t recover quite as quickly as I used to. I’m still a fairly young guy but I’ll tell you what: at 25 I could have been hit by a car and still made it to training.”



Davis still cracks jokes and is capable of making anyone around him laugh, it’s just no longer his M.O.



Now the Bellator light heavyweight champion, he clearly takes the responsibility of being a top-5 fighter in the division seriously. At Bellator 180, Davis will defend his world championship in Madison Square Garden against fellow UFC veteran Ryan Bader.



The two originally met in January of 2015 at UFC on FOX 14, with Bader eking out a close split decision victory. The fight remained on the feet throughout most of the fight, with Bader landing the slightly better strikes.



“He was able to score more standing,” Davis said. “We just can’t allow him to get going like he did last fight. There wasn’t much grappling, but he did land more standing."



To be victorious, Davis will have to use his entire skill set over five rounds, mixing in his well-established grappling game with newly-developed striking skills to keep Bader off guard.



Davis said he has grown since their first fight in 2015 and plans to use an array of skills to get the victory.



“Honestly I’ve grown much more as a fighter; I understand the game a lot better,” Davis said. “My striking is so much better and my grappling and takedowns are also better because of my striking. In every area, I’ve become just a much better.”



Davis’ legacy as a mixed martial artist won’t be established strictly on what he accomplishes in the cage. It was just over two years ago that Davis decided to leave the UFC for Bellator, becoming one of the first in a steady stream of legitimate contenders to leave the world’s largest MMA promotion for the greener pastures of Bellator or elsewhere.





The UFC’s monopoly over high-quality fighters seems to be coming to an end and the departure of contenders like Davis is a considerable part of the story. If the trend continues, Davis could be remembered not only for his ring exploits, but for bucking the trend of fighters being blindly loyal to the UFC. He took his career into his own hands.



However, Davis takes no pride in how the relationship between the UFC and many of its top stars has continued to deteriorate in the years since he left the promotion.



He said it was a decision to better his own circumstances, nothing more and nothing less.



“My move was never about vindication; it was just about making the best decision for me,” Davis said. “I left the UFC for a better opportunity and it’s been awesome. Before that I left a different promotion for a better opportunity (in the UFC). Every time I leave a promotion it’s for a better opportunity.”



Davis added that Bellator has been “great” and that “I still see more and more people joining the Bellator roster that are absolute studs. Each month we get a new set of faces, it’s just going to continue to grow.”



The pink-tight wearing Davis is now 4-0 inside the Bellator cage, with victories over Emanuel Newton, Francis Carmont, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Liam McGeary. A victory over Bader will continue to establish him as one of the premier light-heavyweight fighters in the world.



And if he can beat Bader, what’s next? Perhaps a run at the Bellator heavyweight championship?



“I wouldn’t put it (a move to heavyweight) out of the question, but as of right now I’m happy,” Davis said. “The problem is that if you say ‘Yeah, I’d go up to heavyweight’ then people want to know who you’d fight and there’s not really a person I would say right now that I’m eager to fight. Right now what I’d say is that the more comfortable I become in the sport, the more I could see myself doing it.”



First he’ll have to get past Bader on the biggest stage in combat sports.

