“Mr. Wonderful” Phil Davis (5-0) is currently a hot prospect in the UFC’s Light-Heavyweight Division. When he isn’t trying to make his opponent a permanent sponsor on the mat, Phil is actually quite a nice guy who is never shy about making his feelings heard. He has kindly agreed to bless MMA Gospel with knowledge straight from the fighter’s mouth. In this week’s segment we discuss something close to Phil’s heart- and hot on the minds of fans- grappling.
Please note: This is not an interview, it is a conversation, you will hear me chime in whether you like it or not.
My big topic for this segment here is that it seems like currently there is a phenomenon with fans, where they have a disdain for grappling. What is your take on all of that? Are you experiencing any (backlash for your style)?
Phil Davis: No, not yet. Grappling is part of my game. (Criticism for grappling) comes from really not knowing. If you don’t know what’s going on in a grappling match I guess it can seem boring, I guess it could seem dull. It doesn’t really take a lot to understand who’s winning and who’s losing in a one-sided boxing match- one guy is getting hit, the other guy is missing punches. Anyone can turn on any (boxing match) and see that. But it’s not always apparent who’s winning in a grappling match unless you know what you’re talking about, unless you train or are knowledgeable about the sport. It looks like the top guy is winning but that’s not always the case.
Phil Davis: The more fans watch (MMA), the more they will realize and appreciate grappling for what it is. It really is awesome, I think.
Do you think there is a fair amount of time for someone to stay in top position? Obviously as a wrestler, top game is critical. Fans are complaining about Georges St. Pierre’s last few fights, about Rashad’s last fights; the idea of playing in safe. In your opinion do you think if a guy is on top, controlling (his opponent) he’s winning a fight? Do you think that when you translate that to MMA it’s okay to keep a guy down?
Phil Davis: You should definitely look for action. If it’s too boring, stand them up, if there is no action, stand them up, there is no punches, no position changes, no submission attempts…a referee needs to stand them back up. Otherwise you will end up with a situation where the guy on top has accumulated points for not doing that much, or running out the clock.
Phil Davis: But if a guy gets the takedown in the first 20 seconds and is actively punching a guy and (making) position changes and submission attempts, he could be there for 4:40 seconds, I don’t care.
I’m not trying to play journalist here, I do think that’s an absolutely fair way to win a fight. But some people don’t see it that way. Look at Georges St. Pierre’s fight with Thiago Alves. He’s on the ground with him, beating him up. When the fight was over (Thiago) looked like he got in a fight with a baseball bat. People say he was playing it safe.
Phil Davis: I don’t think Georges St. Pierre is playing it safe at all. You have to understand the level that these guys are competing at. Georges St. Pierre has great striking but at the same time, his game plan is to take a guy…you have to play your strengths. This is not a game of egos. This is not two guys going in there saying “I don’t care what you do, I’m going to go in there and duke it out with you”, no not at all. You want to go in there and technically find the best way to beat this opponent.
Phil Davis: (Hardy posed) a real threat to Georges St. Pierre and he had to take him to the ground. That is the game plan. If (Hardy’s coaches say) “in order to beat this wrestler you need to work on your takedown defense, don’t get taken down and knock him out standing” (taking Hardy down) would be logical (for Georges). That may seem boring, but it’s the game. It’s what you need to do if you are going to succeed at the higher levels.
You are one of these guys that thankfully for fans and journalists alike, you are out there in the public, on twitter, being vocal as much as you can, giving access to fans. Do you ever get a fan criticizing wrestling to you directly?
Phil Davis: Every now and then. Sometimes you just start reading them (laughs) and you just know right away if they agree with you or are saying something you just don’t feel like reading (laughs) you just don’t even finish the whole message. I do have some loyal people who follow me on Twitter so I read their stuff.
Stay tuned for part two of our Fireside Chat with Phil Davis where we get into the more unique rule changes anti-grappling MMA fans have suggested on the Internet. Phil isn’t afraid to address the ideas head-on.
