Sherdog’s Top 10: Fighters Outside the UFC

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6. Phil Davis
Record: 13-3
Organization: Bellator MMA

Davis made his professional MMA debut in October 2008, only five months after winning a national title in wrestling at Penn State. He was a phenom prospect with unreal credentials and potential, and he won his first UFC fight only 16 months later, a strong decision over current UFC commentator Brian Stann. His first five fights with the promotion -- five victories, none of them particularly competitive -- led to the inescapable conclusion that Davis was a special talent with big things in his future.

Unfortunately, Davis went 4-3 in his next seven outings, dropping one-sided fights to Rashad Evans and Anthony Johnson along with a tight affair against Ryan Bader. He won a slow-paced decision over Lyoto Machida and blew out Glover Teixeira, but seemed to have stalled as a prospect. The UFC seemed happy to let him walk to Bellator instead of re-signing him.

While Davis might not have lived up to the sky-high expectations, he is still an incredibly rare commodity: a consensus top-10 light heavyweight with real wrestling chops who is under the age of 35. Even if he were not still in his prime, he would be worth his weight in gold, and there is still plenty of time left for him to improve and perhaps live up to his hype. He will get a huge opportunity to prove that Bellator has spent its money wisely on Sept. 19, when he takes part in the promotion’s four-man, one-night light heavyweight tournament.

Number 5 » The essence of his style is violence. A former NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Northern Colorado, the former wrestler has emphasized his striking in his MMA career -- and to great effect. He packs shocking power in everything he throws, from overhands and uppercuts to elbows and low kicks, and he can finish fights with one shot at any time.