ANAHEIM, Calif. – It’s well documented that Brandon Davis endures a tough cut to make 135 pounds.
So when the UFC came to him with Kyung Ho Kang for UFC 241 in Anaheim, Calif., he was a little hesitant.
Two years ago, the California Athletic State Commission adopted new rehydration rules to combat extreme weight cuts, meaning fighters can only put 10 percent of their weight back on in between weigh-ins and fight night.
Davis (10-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC), who recently made the move down to bantamweight, admitted he tried to move the fight elsewhere.
“Whenever they offered it to me, I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know about California because I can only get back to so much weight,’ but we’ll see what we’ll do about that,” Davis told MMA Junkie. “I’m not really too worried about that. I asked them if we could do a different card, same person, because I know he comes to fight. They said that’s all they had, so I was like, ‘All right, let’s take it.’ (I) took the fight. I like it. I mean, I love the card – California is cool.”
After some initial concern, Davis diverted his attention to the fight. He likes the matchup with the always game Kang (15-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC), who has finished 13 of his 15 pro wins.
“The dude comes to bang,” Davis said. “He’s going to try to shoot when I crack him, but we’ll see if I’m going to have to stop that and keep him standing and keep busting him up.”
Davis defeated Randy Costa by second-round submission in his bantamweight debut at UFC 236 in a back-and-forth fight. The weight cut for this fight won’t have been any easier, but as long as it’s not compromising his ability to perform, he’s satisfied.
“I think it’s always going to be this work, but I don’t mind because I know I’m in great shape,” Davis said. “So whenever I spar with people and I get done and go with them again, they’re like, ‘Holy (expletive), I cannot keep that pace up,’ so it makes me happy. If I have to do this every single day, I would.
“Same style, actually working even harder – so I’m still doing the same intervals and running as much, just at a faster pace.”
