Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis and Vinny Magalhaes will settle their Twitter beef inside the Octagon at UFC 159.
The announcement was made on UFC Tonight, but Magalhaes confirmed the news as well, via Twitter.
It’s official guys, I’m finally fighting that delusional guy who said that he could tap me out. @ufc #ufc159
— Vinny Magalhaes (@VinnyMMA) January 30, 2013
For those unfamiliar with the history between these two, allow me to provide a little background.
Phil Davis was slated to fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 155 in December. When a knee injury forced Griffin out of the contest, however, Davis was left with no opponent.
Magalhaes had called out Davis prior to the UFC 155 change-up involving Griffin, so Davis took the initiative to offer Griffin’s spot at the event to the standout Brazilian grappler.
Since the offer required Magalhaes to fight on short notice, however, he declined, stating he could take the bout at heavyweight but would never make the 206-pound weight limit in time to fight at UFC 155.
As expected, this caused Davis to question Magalhaes‘ manhood, and Mr. Davis intimated the fact that a real fighter is down to fight anywhere, anytime.
All of this trash talk amounted to empty words and threats, but with the bout confirmed, we will have resolution to this conflict.
Personally, I like this buildup, and I think it will make the bout more interesting. Magalhaes seems to have taken a page out of Uncle Chael P. Sonnen’s book of late, and his trash-talking ways have upped their intensity over the course of this Davis spat.
On April 27, we will have answers, and we are in for a clash of grand proportions when these two grappling wizards square off inside the Octagon.
Magalhaes‘ Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills are not to be underestimated—he is a multiple-time medalist in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship, and he took gold at the event in 2011.
Davis, to his credit, is a former Division-I wrestling champion out of Penn State, and, while is is just a blue belt in BJJ on paper, his skills are quite advanced due to his wrestling background.
He has submitted Tim Boetsch, Alexander Gustafsson and Wagner Prado during his UFC career, and he has never been forced to tap inside the Octagon.
Can Magalhaes become the first guy to make Mr. Wonderful cry mercy?
I think not. Look for Davis to use his superior striking and wrestling to keep the fight standing where he can avoid Magalhaes vicious ground attack.
If the fight does hit the mat, however, I expect Davis to be on top, dictating where the fight goes.
In my eyes, Davis takes this bout with relative ease, but there is no questioning Magalhaes‘ technical ground proficiency. It just won’t be enough to overcome Mr. Wonderful’s balanced attack on fight day.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com