Davis: ‘I don’t want to be a lay and prayer’
What Davis plans to do, he said, is give fans the show they didn’t get to see that last time…
What Davis plans to do, he said, is give fans the show they didn’t get to see that last time he fought, when his decision victory over Rodney Wallace at UFC 117 left him feeling unsatisfied.
“It just wasn’t a great fight, you know. I just felt like it was kind of an off night. I went out there, did what I needed to do, but I couldn’t get a finish. And I felt like that was a guy I should have gotten a finish on. I left kind of feeling like, I guess I won, but I don’t really feel like a winner.”
Simply winning isn’t enough, said Davis. Not when you come from a collegiate wrestling background and you’re striving to be known as a guy who does more than just grind out boring decisions.
“I don’t want the fans to think I’m another one of those guys who just lays and prays and does nothing. I’m more than capable of putting on an entertaining fight, and that one just wasn’t all that entertaining.”
Of course, there’s a danger inherent in trying too hard to entertain. A wrestler who gets away from his strengths and tries to give the fans a slugfest on the feet is just asking for trouble, and if he gets himself knocked out he can’t count on much sympathy from the people who wanted to see him stand and bang.
It’s an added pressure when you carry an undefeated record, as Davis does. Or at least it would be if he allowed himself to think about it, which he claims he doesn’t.