Phil Davis Scouting Report

(Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)

Phil Davis Scouting Report

Vitals

6’2″ 205 lbs (Light Heavyweight)
79″ reach, Orthodox
Sept 25, 1984

Record

13-3, 1 NC (UFC: 9-3, 1 NC)

Current Streak

1 straight loss

Training

Four-time NCAA D1 All-American in wrestling
Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship champion

Championships Held

None

Strengths

– elite wrestler
– terrific athlete
– above average reach
– great submission skills
– physically strong – manhandles opponents
– really pushes the pace & stays in his opponent’s face
– has fought (& defeated) a high number of elite opponents already
– good ground and pound
– great at passing guard on the ground
– has never been finished in a fight
– exceptional at avoiding strikes
– greatly outstrikes his opponents
– good takedown defense
– still just scratching surface of his talent

Weaknesses

– still learning the sport – only turned pro in 2008
– horribly inaccurate striker (34%)
– surprisingly not a very good takedown % landed rate
– still needs work on his striking

Synopsis

Mr. Wonderful chose the wrong time to call out Jon Jones, as a few days later Rumble Johnson manhandled him at UFC 172, then he got tripped up by Ryan Bader.  Back to the drawing board.