UFC
UFC QUOTABLES: Phil Davis more than willing to take risks in his fights, feels comfortable everywhere in the fight game
Mar 10, 2011 - 10:25:58 PM UFC QUOTABLES: Phil Davis more than willing to take risks in his fights, feels comfortable everywhere in the fight game

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"One of the things I worked on myself was not feeling uncomfortable anywhere. For me, if a guy is (for example) fighting off a takedown to death -- like someone's going to kill him if he gets to the ground -- that, to me, says he knows that if he goes to the ground, he is going to lose this fight; it's over. Even though that's good, now I have in my mind, once I get him to the ground, he's mentally broken.

I never want to be that way. I never want a guy to say, 'Once I do this to Phil, it's over.' No, you can take me down. I'm a wrestler. I'm fine. I'm good on the ground. That's one of the things I had to work on, for me, was making sure that I'm comfortable everywhere. If I'm standing, yeah, I'm comfortable here. Sure, you're better, but I'm comfortable here, I'm going to land some shots, and then I'm going to transition to whatever I want to do...

I have some flexibility and I'm just not afraid to try things. A lot of times, people are afraid to try things in practice because they don't want to lose position; everybody wants to win. Believe me, I'm no different. I want to win all the time, in practice and in a fight. But when you're afraid to take risks, you can't grow. Even if that comes in the middle of a fight, if I feel like, 'Hey, I've never done this move before, but at this particular moment, it feels like the right thing to do,' just go for it. You've got to take those risks. Just go for it. And you know what? The people that do it, you'll either end up making a mistake -- or you'll end up brilliant."

-Phil Davis talks to Sergio Non at USAToday ahead of his UFC Fight Night 24 headliner against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and his philosophy on fighting.

Penick's Analysis: This is one of the things that makes guys like Davis and Jon Jones so enjoyable to watch. Here you have these young guys out to improve their games and prove themselves amongst top competition, and yet they're always quick to try something different or make a move on the fly in a fight. They have no fear in that respect, and it adds to the "what are they going to show us next?" aspect of their fights that has everyone tuning in. It's a great attribute to be willing to fall on your face in the hopes of finding greatness, and it is part of what makes Phil Davis so fun to watch. His bout with Nogueira is an excellent free TV main event, and should be a very exciting fight for the fans in Seattle on March 26.