Still-evolving Davis ready for pressure at UFC 123

DETROIT -- Before taking on Tim Boetsch at UFC 123, UFC light heavyweight Phil Davis had to face a tough ask. He was in the spotlight at the Palace of Auburn Hills during the Pistons-Lakers game. Davis was given 24 seconds to hit as many free throws as he could. (Watch it here.) For each bucket he hit, $200 was donated to Pistons Care.

By the time he left the court, $1600 was donated. He said he felt more pressure going on the court than he ever has in the Octagon.

"Definitely free throws. Wrestling is what I know, it's what I'm good at. Anything kind of, sort of related to wrestling, I'm good with. Free throws? No," Davis said.

Though he hit eight free throws, he isn't breaking any stereotypes about wrestlers not being able to hoop.

"Let's not wave it off. It can be pushed to the back to the things people say about wrestlers." 

Davis was a national champion wrestler for Penn State, and is most comfortable doing that which revolves around wrestling.

"Everything works its way back to wrestling"

"Everything with me works its way back to wrestling. To me, MMA is like wrestling, and I don't know why I've been wrestling for so long and not been punching. Wrestling is so much fun when you can punch people. I don't know why I haven't been doing it."

Davis works with both Alliance MMA in San Diego and American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose. He never wants to get too comfortable as a fighter, so he challenges himself by working with everyone from UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez to bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. He's learned something from every fighter he's been around.

"I was helped by Jon Fitch and Cain Velasquez, except, most of his tips hurt. I'm always asking for help and they're more than happy to give it to me. Brandon Vera, too, really gave me a sharp kickboxing look," Davis said. "[Cruz] does a bunch of things that blow my mind. When you can move with a guy his speed, and land a few punches, you've got to be in good position and be able to move. He's definitely helped me get my footwork down and be ready to strike."

Davis' striking game is still evolving. He wants to be exciting, but is more focused on winning.

"You can go for a spinning backfist and miss it, or you hit a straight right. I think people will remember the spinning backfist, but if you get knocked out, no one's going to thank you for going for it. There's no style points in MMA. I stick to what I'm good at, and I stick to my game."

His hunger to learn, wrestling pedigree and natural talent make Davis an exciting prospect, but he's not letting it get to his head.

"You can't allow anyone to tell you your worth. That's both positive and negative. If someone tells you that you're the worst in the world, you can't believe that. If someone tells you you're the best in the world, you can't believe that either. You gotta be who you are and know where you're at. I know I get beat up in the gym every day, so it's no mystery. I'm not ready for a title shot."

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White calls Marquardt a 'choker' and criticizes camp

Dana White speaks his mind even if it means lashing out at the good guys in the sport. White pulled no punches after watching Nate Marquardt struggle in another pivotal fight.

"He is a choker," White told MMAjunkie at the UFC postfight press conference. "He choked tonight. Listen you couldn't meet a nicer guy than Nate Marquardt. He's a great guy. Nice kid choked tonight."

Marquardt lost his one and only shot at the middleweight title back in 2007. He's admitted many times that he froze up against the champion Anderson Silva at UFC 73.

Back in February, a win over Chael Sonnen would've earned him a much-coveted rematch against the champ. Because of a flawed gameplan, he was dominated by Sonnen. It happened again last night against Yushin Okami. Marquardt never got in a groove. He was outpointed on the feet and couldn't maintain position when the match hit the ground.

What disappointed White even more was Marquardt's measured approach. The fight appeared to be even on the scorecards heading to the final round, but the middleweight contender never went for broke.

"You already blew a title shot once; you're in a fight for the title shot again in the third round, and you're not throwing any punches or kicks? It has nothing to do with pressure," White said. "You're ... professional, and you're going to go after it in the last round to get your title shot."

The UFC president pointed the finger of blame at Marquardt's trainer and cornermen.

"I mean, Nate Marquardt sat here tonight and said that he thought he won the fight. Where the [expletive] is his corner? You go into the last round and you're getting outstruck by a wrestler, and you think you won the fight? And this is consistent with the Greg Jackson camp," said White.

The Jackson camp generally employs a calm, analytical style between rounds. There's no screaming, yelling or desperation. White said that approach has backfired with many of the Jackson fighters.

"Marquardt is such a talented guy, and what I'm seeing is stuff from the Greg Jackson camp," White said. "This camp continuously – when these guys fight, their corner is either telling them they're ahead or they're winning."

The disappointment of the loss can probably be erased pretty quickly with a couple of wins. Marquardt is just 31 years old and Silva is far from a lock to hold onto the title in 2011. Marquardt is also fortunate because there aren't a ton of hot shot prospects nipping at his heels that could knock him from the top five in the UFC's 185 class.

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Bader Believes Flashy Jones May Tone Down Creative Style for UFC 126 Clash

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Ryan Bader walked into the UFC with big hopes of his own to go with the expectations of others who saw a diamond in the rough. The former collegiate wrestling All-American has steadily improved and risen up the UFC light-heavyweight depth chart, first winning The Ultimate Fighter's season eight, before embarking on an octagon career that's seen him go 5-0, with big wins over Keith Jardine, and most recently, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

That victory put him on a collision course with another rising star, Jon Jones. The two will meet at UFC 126 in February 2011, and because the two are likely to be in the championship picture for years to come, it seems to be the type of matchup that at best might ignite a longtime rivalry, and at worst will launch one of the two squarely towards top contender status.

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UFC 123 shocker: Penn sends Hughes home in 21 seconds

B.J. Penn is far from finished. Lightweight legend disappeared from pound-for-pound top 10 lists after dropping two fights to current UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar. Looks like Edgar is just that good and a terrible matchup for Penn. Against a slower, less dangerous striker in Matt Hughes, Penn looked like a world beater.

Hughes came out looking to strike and got drilled by a counter right. The former welterweight champ fell to his back where he took four blasting rights and a left. Referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in to save Hughes at 0:21 of the first round in the co-main event of UFC 123. 

UPDATE: Penn received an $80,000 bonus for knockout of the night. 

UPDATE II: Heavy.com reports that Penn will bounce back quickly to fight on Feb. 27 in the main event at UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia.

Seconds after the TKO, a confused Hughes asked his cornermen, "what happened?"

After a few minutes to collect himself, Hughes told UFC analyst Joe Rogan, he didn't know what hit him. 

"He hit me hard. When I felt the hit, I thought it was a knee or a kick," Hughes said. "He hit me pretty hard."

Hughes (45-7, 18-6 UFC) has only been stopped via TKO three times in his career. This was by far the fastest knockout he's ever suffered. Hard to believe, but Hughes lost via submission against Dennis Hallman twice, in just 18 and 20 seconds. 

Penn, who seemed almost sullen leading up the fight, got his mojo back. He exploded with joy after the fight running from the cage into the crowd. Once he got the microphone, he screamed that he loved Detroit and the UFC. He also told Hughes that he was his idol. 

Penn (16-7-1, 13-6-1 UFC) was a dominant force at 155 pounds winning three straight title defenses after grabbing the belt at UFC 80. He was dominated by Georges St. Pierre in a fight at 170 pounds at UFC 94.

After losing to Edgar for a second time, the move back to face the big boys at welterweight seemed like an odd choice. Penn was probably giving away 10-12 pounds tonight, but superior technique and speed usually overcomes size.

After a loss to Thiago Alves back at UFC 85, Hughes seemed incapable of competing at the highest level. With three straight wins, he got his career back on track and was even being mentioned as a title contender.

Following the fight, the 37-year-old veteran said he was unclear of what he would do next. 

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