Davis’ contract expired, currently negotiating
It is the UFC’s general practice to negotiate a new contract with a fighter when they have one fight left, but the fighter has the option to fight his last fight, which is what Davis has done.
Phil Davis has spent a majority of his professional career in the UFC. After starting 3-0 in local promotions, Davis signed with the UFC in 2009 where he has amassed a record of 9-3-1. It is the UFC’s general practice to negotiate a new contract with a fighter when they have one fight left, but the fighter has the option to fight his last fight and wait to negotiate, which is what Davis has done:
After his fight against Ryan Bader at UFC on January 24, Phil Davis’ finished out the last fight on his contract with the UFC.
As reported on Wednesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight, “Mr. Wonderful” is currently a restricted free agent, of sorts, as he is still in the exclusive negotiation period with Zuffa. Sources close to Davis told Ariel Helwani that the light heavyweight can’t field any outside offers just yet.
Waiting till after you’ve fought the last bout on your contract can either be beneficial or detrimental to your power at the negotiating table. Unfortunately for Davis his last fight was a loss to Ryan Bader and is 2-2 in his last four, meaning he likely doesn’t have much bargaining power despite being the number seven ranked light heavyweight.