At this last weekend’s “UWC 6: Capital Punishment” card, Phil Davis dominated veteran Terry Cohens from the top position en route to a first round TKO stoppage. After the victory that moved his professional record to 3-0, the former Nittany Lion national champion spoke to the media. PRO MMA (promma.info) staff writer Richard Mann was on the scene.

Despite dominating the fight from the outset, Davis said, “I didn’t really get a chance to settle into the fight.” When asked about the finish he said, “He [the referee] stopped it when he stopped it.” Davis credited Cohens’ durability for the prolonged barrage of punches, “I think the last time I got a TKO, I didn’t land as many clean punches. This time I landed a lot more clean punches.”

Davis was caught with a punch early in the fight, but it was still clear from the overall bout his stand up skills have continued to evolve. Davis gives the credit to training with Lloyd Irvin. The former wrestler admits stand up is a focus, “I mean it is definitely something I’ve been working on, but the total packing is really what I’m working for.”

Of course, everyone wants to know what is next for the light heavyweight prospect. Davis was somewhat sheepish with his response when he said, “Up next is more training, more coaching, and more baby steps.”

Coming from Penn State and having two of his three professional fights take place on the East Coast, many see Davis as a central figure in MMA’s East Coast expansion. When asked his thoughts he said, “Building up East Coast MMA is something I feel is only natural. It is going to happen. There is a great concentration of wrestlers on the East Coast, and wrestlers lend themselves to MMA. I feel like it is just something that is going to happen sooner of later.”

By: Richard Mann

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