Bellator 220: “MacDonald vs. Fitch” takes place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., this weekend (Sat., April 27, 2019), streaming exclusively on DAZN. With only one opening round bracket left in the Welterweight Grand Prix, it’s time for Rory MacDonald (20-5) and Jon Fitch (31-7-1, 1 NC) to meet, with the Welterweight title also being on the line in the main event of the evening. Before that main event can take place, though, two former Light Heavyweight champions will get to settle old scores when Phil Davis (19-5, 1 NC) faces off with Liam McGeary (13-3) in a rematch of their first encounter at Bellator 163.
At the time, McGeary was the reigning and defending champion with an unblemished record (10-0). Davis put on a master clinic in Penn State University (PSU) wrestling technique, revealing an obvious hole in McGeary’s game en route to a lopsided unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44 and 50-45). Since being dethroned, McGeary’s record is even (2-2), but he did look impressive against Muhammed Lawal at Bellator 213 in Dec. 2018. His takedown defense is improving and his knockout power is as always to be feared from a man of his stature.
MMAmania.com recently spoke with “Mr. Wonderful” about his planned return to form after going even (2-2) in his last four bouts, including a split decision loss against Vadim Nemkov.
“You know what? Any time there’s a close decision, I truthfully just say ‘You know – I put myself in that position, man.’ I respect the judges, and I let them make the call, even if it’s not the one that benefits me. It was a close fight. I blame me.”
In hindsight, Davis believes he could have turned in a much more convincing performance.
“I should have gotten a lot busier in the first round. I was a little slow, a little hesitant. I wanted to feel him out, see his range, see his speed. It just took me too long. Once I got his speed, I got a good read on him, then I was able to just flow and let go and really get after him.”
Davis also believes that’s something he must change before the rematch with McGeary.
“I absolutely cannot wait that long to settle into a fight. It is what it is. Again you know when I look back on how close the fight (was), I look back and I see all the things that I can do much better.”
What it is, though, is a fight with a much larger man. McGeary stands 6’6” and has an 81-inch reach, while Davis is 6’2” and has a 79-inch reach. He solved this puzzle once before, though, and doesn’t think McGeary’s wrestling defense improved in the interim.
“I don’t know how he could correct it. What I will tell you (though) is that his vulnerability to being taken down is somewhat self-inflicted. He somewhat enjoys being taken down. I think that’s kind of part of his gameplan — to get taken down and then get rubber guard. So I don’t know how he’s going to change that.”
There is truth in that statement. McGeary is a Renzo Gracie-trained black belt and has five wins via submission, including his famous inverted triangle on Tito Ortiz. It’s been almost four years since McGeary tapped anyone out, however, and Davis holds the opinion that there’s not much to be learned from McGeary’s last performance against Muhammed Lawal.
“You know, you don’t see Muhammed Lawal holding people down and controlling them and looking for submissions. It’s usually ‘get them down, smash their face in’ and if he can’t do that because a guy’s holding him at bay with his position, then he’s not as good on top. Positionally he’s not great on top. Saying he couldn’t hold McGeary down doesn’t mean a whole lot to me.”
“King Mo” might take exception to that description of his fighting style, but Davis only has to worry about what McGeary will do in a rematch as he’s already beaten Lawal in the past.
“I’ll tell you what — there’s different wrestling styles, and they all translate into MMA in different ways. Johny Hendricks is one of the best collegiate wrestlers, and his ability to get takedowns in MMA just doesn’t translate. It’s not what he goes after. Everybody is looking for different things as wrestlers and as fighters.”
Lest we get sidetrack on why Johny Hendricks washed out in UFC, let’s get back to why “Mr. Wonderful” has a wrestling style that does translate to MMA.
“I will take you down all night long. I’ll do that dance ‘All Night Long’ with Lionel Richie. If you keep standing back up, (you) will get tired, and that’s the difference.”
As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Davis found the recipe before and plans to cook it up again for a win against McGeary, then move on to a rematch with Nemkov.
“Absolutely. I’m going to get the title back, and I’m going to get back to Vadim Nemkov much sooner than later. A win just puts me back in the conversation. I don’t know who (Nemkov) fights next, really. With a win it could be me.”
After Davis reiterated “sooner than later” a second time, I asked him if they had already signed a contract for a rematch.
“No … no … no. I’m just putting it out there, you know? I mean realistically another win over McGeary puts me back in line behind Nemkov, so he’s either fighting for the title or we can work things out on our own.”
Scott Coker, if you’re listening, “Mr. Wonderful” has a few proposals he’d like to share with you. In the meantime, watch him face Liam McGeary once again at Bellator 220 this weekend.
Complete audio of our interview is embedded above, and complete coverage of “MacDonald vs. Fitch” resides here at MMA Mania all week long.
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