Phil Davis hopes to run things back with two men who have handed him his most frustrating career losses.
Since joining the Bellator roster, Davis (21-5 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) has only lost to two fighters: light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Ryan Bader and Vadim Nemkov, both by split decision.
Before heading to Bellator, Davis was narrowly edged by Bader in his final UFC bout. The two met again when Davis put his Bellator light heavyweight title on the line against Bader in 2017. But he lost once again by split decision.
Since then, Davis has won four of his past five. His only other loss came to Nemkov in another tightly contested bout. Davis, who scored stoppage wins over Liam McGeary and Karl Albrektsson in his most recent two outings, wants to get those blemishes back.
“I would move backwards kind of in order, and first I need to get back my loss against Mr. Nemkov,” Davis told MMA Junkie Radio. “(It was a) close fight. He got his hand raised, and I need to get that one back. And when I’m done with that, I need to settle the score with Mr. Bader.”
With the majority of the MMA world at a standstill, Davis is hoping for a very active rest of the year as soon as Bellator resume operations.
And he would even consider heavyweight if the offer was right.
“I would like to get three fights in before the end of the year or more,” Davis said. “In the past, I haven’t really been interested in heavyweight. But yeah, if there is a fight that’s interesting, I’m open to taking it and having fun. At this point, it’s about showcasing what I can do and just, when I think about heavyweight, for me, it’s just getting out there and just being yourself. The fear of losing kind of disappears and I’m just able to go out there and perform and create artwork.”
