By Kelsey Mowatt
It may not have been a victory filled with highlight reel strikes or crowd raising slams, but Phil Davis nonetheless reasserted his status last night as one of the sport’s fastest rising prospects, by scoring a unanimous decision win over renowned vet, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. As many expected would be the case, it was the well documented wrestling abilities of Davis that delivered him the win, as the undefeated light-heavyweight utilized takedowns and strikes from the top position to maintain his unblemished record.
“I did what I wanted to do,” Davis (9-0) said after the UFC Fight Night bout, which was contested at Seattle’s Key Arena. “It wasn’t over the top but I think it was good enough to get the job done. I’m excited; it was good.”
Early on, it appeared as though Davis may be forced into a stand-up battle with the noted pugilist "Minotoro" Nogueira (19-5), who was able to defend several takedown attempts from the former NCAA Division 1 wrestling champ. While Nogueira never landed any substantial, fight ending strikes as a result, Davis remained determined to get the fight to the mat and eventually succeeded.
“I’m persistent. If I get stuffed twice it’s no big deal; it’s happened before in practice,” said Davis, who emerged relatively unscathed from Nogueira’s counter punches. “I’m just persistent. Keep going; keep going. Get it done.”
Perhaps the most impressive element of Davis’s performance was what he accomplished on the ground against the accomplished BJJ black belt. Not only did Davis punish Nogueira with strikes from above, he maintained solid positioning throughout the final half of the fight, eliminating his opponent’s highly regarded submission game altogether.
“I wanted to finish strong; I didn’t want to leave anything to chance,” Davis noted. “I definitely didn’t want to leave it to the judges if I could help it, but these things happen and luckily things went my way.”
Davis acknowledged to UFC commentator Joe Rogan afterwards that injuries had adversely affected his ability to prepare for the bout, making last night’s win more noteworthy, even if it wasn’t Fight of the Night potential.
