Phil Davis is the perfect example of an up and coming fighter and future super star. He is a decorated collegiate wrestler with an undefeated professional MMA record, and at 27 years old, he is in the prime of his life.
“Mr. Wonderful” has defeated all five of his opponents the UFC has thrown at him to include fan favorite Brian Stann, Pride legend Antônio Rogério Nogueira, and even fellow up and comer and possible future title contender Alexander Gustafsson.
With all that said, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that he is deserving of a shot at Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC on Fox 2 on Jan. 28, 2012, especially since in many ways his path to the tile is not so different than the one Evans originally took.
Rewind to Sep. 6th, 2008 to UFC 88 and you will see a 28 year old undefeated Rashad Evans taking on a former light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in a title-eliminator bout.
Like Davis, Rashad had faced off against a legend in the form of Tito Ortiz, a fellow up and comer in Michael Bisping and a fan favorite named Stephan Bonnar.
Unlike Davis however, Rashad’s path took more fights, as his fight with Ortiz was ruled a draw. Also unlike Davis, Rashad was headlining PPV fights even before his bout with Liddell, but as the winner of Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter, this was expected.
The question should not be if Phil Davis is ready for the big leagues, because anyone would be hard pressed to find an up and coming fighter more ready than him.
The real question is if his path to the title will become even more like Rashad’s, in that he will walk away with a KO victory and go on to claim the title in similar fashion.
For Rashad’s sake, let’s hope not. But if your name is Phil Davis, then Rashad is the perfect opponent to defeat and prove to the world why you belong in the big leagues.
And that’s the bottom line.
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