Wanting to stay away from the Anderson Silva debacle that ensued this past weekend at UFC 112, I have decided to focus this post on one very positive happening at the event that may have been overlooked. Collegiate wrestling standout Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis picked up his 2nd UFC win and 6th MMA win overall in impressive fashion. He submitted young up-and-comer Alexander Gustafsson with a beautiful, textbook anaconda choke just before the end of the 1st round. In his first UFC fight, Davis defeated former WEC Light-Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann by unanimous decision. Both of those victories were against talented, young, and experienced fighters. Davis looks like and is an athletic freak, which also contributes to his recent success.
What we are witnessing is the changing of the guard. Legends like Liddell, Ortiz, Cro Cop, Nogueira, Coleman, and others are fading off into obscurity. In the heavyweight division, we are seeing witness to the rise of the new era of top talent. Guys like Carwin, Lesnar, Velasquez, dos Santos, Duffee, and Barry are taking over the division and should hopefully provide us with great fights for years to come. We're starting to see it at light-heavyweight as well. Jon Jones has dominated Steffan Bonner, Matt Hammill, and Brandon Vera, and make it look easy at the same time. Don't be surprised if Jones/Davis becomes the next Liddell/Couture. Right now, Davis needs a victory against a seasoned veteran at the bottom end of the top 15 to get over the hump into the title hunt. In my opinion, the best option for him is Vladimir Matyushenko. He's a good veteran fighter with some good wins and an impressive record, not to mention a two-fight win streak in the UFC. It would be perfect for a main card slot on a future Spike or Versus card. You listening Joe Silva? You should be...
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