UFC
Phil Davis thankful for "great opportunity" against Rashad Evans at UFC 133
Apr 26, 2011 - 4:55:46 PM Phil Davis thankful for "great opportunity" against Rashad Evans at UFC 133

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Phil Davis entered 2011 an 8-0 prospect preparing for a fight with Matt Hamill at this weekend's UFC 129 card in Toronto. Now, after a series of injuries and other circumstances shuffled around a number of matchups in the organization, Davis finds himself prepping for an August bout with a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion in Rashad Evans.

"I was shocked; I was surprised," Davis said regarding getting this fight in comments made to MMAJunkie.com. "I was very thankful that they thought of me as the next guy to get that caliber of fight."

Though he's excited for the matchup, it's coming a bit earlier than he was planning on returning. Following his win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC Fight Night 24 last month, Davis expressed a desire to take more time off and to return late in the year, but now he's turning right back around for a fight just four and a half months later.

"His name wasn't one of the ones I was looking to fight next," Davis said. "But it looks like it's next on the list, so it looks like we have a date... I don't know that this is the timeframe I was looking for. But it's a great opportunity and a great chance to further my career."

UFC 133 takes place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Penn. Davis, a NCAA Division I wrestling champion from Penn State, returns to his home state for this fight.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This is such a giant leap up in competition for Davis, and it's probably coming too soon. Of course he could rise to the occasion and pull off a massive upset, but as a bright and promising prospect this is a fight that he didn't need to be put in at this stage of his career. He wasn't going to say no to the opportunity, of course, but Evans is a very good fighter and former champion who has taken on an extremely high level of competition over the last several years. Davis is being tossed to a massive wolf in this light heavyweight division, and when he was hoping to take more time off as it was this might be a mistake of a fight to put together right now. It could be a very good fight, but you can't help but think it's going to be too much, too soon for Davis at this point.