L.C. Davis: ‘I’m No Chump’

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Ever since Joe Warren signed with Bellator MMA, he has been one of the promotion’s most highly publicized fighters -- and deservedly so, as he remains the only two-division champion in its history. However, L.C. Davis is not buying into the hype as he approaches his main-event showdown with Warren at Bellator 143 on Friday at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas.

“I think this is a great fight for me,” Davis told Sherdog.com. “He’s well-known and highly regarded. I respect him and he gets the job done in the cage, but I’m a better mixed martial artist. I can do everything he can and do a little more, I think. I’m thankful Bellator has given me the opportunity, but if they think I’m just a fight for him to rebound from his last loss, then that’s bad news for Joe Warren . I’m not a rebound fight or an easy fight for anybody. If people think that, I’m going to shock the world.”

Davis, who fights out of American Top Team HD in Kansas City, Mo., will enter the headliner on a three-fight winning streak under the Bellator banner. After defeating Zeilton Rodrigues and Taurean Bogguess, he earned a split decision win over Hideo Tokoro in a “Fight of the Year” contender at Bellator 135 in March. Against Tokoro, Davis used a high volume of punches and superb submission defense to knock off the well-traveled Japanese veteran. He did so despite suffering a badly broken jaw that had him bleeding profusely from the mouth and left fans and media thinking multiple teeth had been knocked out.

“It was such a crazy fight,” the 34-year-old Davis said. “In the heat of the moment, I didn’t really think about it. I felt my mouth fill up with blood during the fight. After my interview, [Bellator commentator] Jimmy Smith looked at mouth and freaked out a little. I went back to locker room and saw my teeth were shoved in the back of mouth and I found out it was a broken jaw. I lucked out. I just broke the bottom part of my jaw in the front of my mouth. They just had to wire the bottom of my jaw for six weeks. After I got that off, I had no hard sparring for another two or three weeks, and I was ready to go after that.”

Davis claims that there have been no lingering effects from the injury in the lead-up to his battle with Warren, an NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Michigan who went on to strike Greco-Roman gold at the 2006 FILA Wrestling World Championships. He spent a good portion of his prep time honing his wrestling skills.

“I went to American Top Team in Florida, but I’ve done most of my camp in Kansas City,” Davis said. “It’s gone great, and I’ve done the normal stuff I always do. I’ve been doing a lot of wrestling work since I’m facing a tough wrestling guy, but I’m just sharpening up my game and getting ready.”

Warren lost his 135-pound title at Bellator 135, where he verbally submitted to a Marcos Galvao kneebar in the second round of their championship fight. The loss snapped a five-fight winning streak for the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” and allowed Galvao to avenge a controversial decision defeat in their first fight at Bellator 41 back in April 2011. Davis knows that if he wants to knock off Warren, he cannot allow him to utilize his wrestling and clinch game.

“I have to make him fight my fight,” Davis said. “He’s good at pushing the pace and making people fight his fight. He gets in your face and takes you down. For me to win, I have to make him fight my fight and make him uncomfortable. I need to put leather in his face and keep him off me. I’m looking to finish the fight and take the judges out of it because he’s the king of decisions.”

Davis is a true veteran of the sport, having made his professional MMA debut in February 2006. He has fought in the International Fight League, Affliction, Sengoku, Titan Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting organizations. He feels a win over Warren will put him at the front of the line for a shot at Galvao’s bantamweight title.

“I feel like it would have to make me the No. 1 contender,” Davis said. “I don’t think there’s anybody in the division that has my credentials and pedigree, plus beating the former champ. To me, it’s undeniable that I’d be the No. 1 contender, and I feel like I deserve it. I’m no chump. I had a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate in my last fight. I feel like a win has to get me a title shot.”