The bout shared Fight of the Night honors with the Coleman/ Rua co-main event, earning Davis a $40,000 bonus. Lytle managed to stun Davis several times, but Davis used superior footwork, counter-punching, and kicks to win a split decision. Leading up to the event, both fighters promised to stand and trade blows for the entire fight, rather than engage in grappling.
He suggested that the fight take place in Ireland, where Davis had gained a substantial following due to his emphasis on his Irish roots. Both fighters are former boxers and had discussed a potential fight in their futures since early 2008. He got back to winning ways with a submission victory over England's Paul Kelly at UFC 89.ĭavis' fought Chris Lytle at UFC 93 on January 17, 2009. Marcus Davis lost a very one sided unanimous decision to Mike Swick at UFC 85, ending his six fight undefeated streak in the octagon and eleven fight winning streak in MMA. His next fight was a highlight-reel knockout win against fierce rival Jess Liaudin at UFC 80 in Newcastle, England. For earning the submission and fight of the night awards, he was awarded $80,000 in bonuses. Marcus won Fight of the night as well as submission of the night for that fight. In Davis' fight against Paul Taylor at UFC 75 in London, England he was knocked down by a high kick to the neck, but was able to recover, gain a dominant position, and secure an armbar as Taylor desperately scrambled to regain control. Davis subsequently bounced back with 11 wins, including a triumphant return to the UFC at Ortiz vs. Marcus fought on the undercard of the finale, where he lost to Melvin Guillard.įollowing the series, Davis strongly considered retirement but recuperated from a shoulder injury picked up against Joe Stevenson and went back to MMA training. He was later brought back in episode ten to cover for Jason Von Flue, who suffered a cut on his forehead in practice, though Von Flue's cut was healed enough in time to fight. Coming in with reputed boxing skills, he picked Joe Stevenson in episode four in what proved to be a mismatch as Davis was quickly taken down by the eventual winner and submitted. In 2005, Marcus was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2.
Though later describing himself as "one-dimensional", Davis was able to put together a 3–2 professional record. Mixed martial arts career Early career ĭavis entered professional MMA on August 22, 2003, with a first-round TKO of Shaun Gay. More recently, Davis has trained with Mark Dellagrotte and his own team in Bangor, Team Sityodtong. After Sylvia joined Miletich Fighting Systems in 2000, Davis quickly followed. The doormen took classes at the school, one of whom was Tim Sylvia. In 1997, he moved back to Bangor and opened up an MMA school, while running a bar. In 1995, Davis, then based in Massachusetts, began training in grappling with Joe Maffei. He retired from boxing after the TKO loss in October 2000. He then became excited with the challenge of mixed martial arts, much to the bemusement of his peers. In his last fight as a boxer, he suffered a TKO loss to 34-year-old Ed Bryant which led him to reconsider his future as a successful boxer. At 19, Davis began his career with a second round TKO of Luis Guzman in April 1993 and compiled a professional record of 17–1–2 over the next seven years on the New England circuit, where he fought primarily as a Junior-Middleweight. Davis attended Bangor High School and became a professional boxer when he was 18 years old. He began karate when he was eight years old because there were no boxing gyms in his town, though he would eventually start boxing when he was 14 years old, having his first amateur match later that year. He was also stabbed twice, shot at on more than one occasion, and witnessed rapes at a young age. Davis was troubled growing up, often getting into fights. A professional MMA competitor from 2003 until 2014, Davis also competed for Bellator MMA, the MFC, the Cage Fury Fighting Championships, and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2.ĭavis was born in Houlton, Maine and raised in Bangor, Maine by his single mother along with his brother, Ron who is six years older than Marcus. Marcus Paul Davis (born August 24, 1973), is an American professional mixed martial artist and former professional boxer who is perhaps best known for competing in the UFC. For the American football wide receiver, see Marcus Davis (American football).