Marcus Davis
From FightWiki
Marcus Davis is currently fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight promotion in the Welterweight division. He currently trains with Mark DellaGrotte's Sityodtong Muay Thai Academy.
 |
Name | Marcus Davis |
| Nickname | The Irish Hand Grenade (and The Celtic Warrior while fighting in Ireland), the Bonus Man | |
| Association | Team Sityodtong | |
| Weight Class | Welterweight | |
| Style | Boxing, Muay Thai | |
| Birth Date | 8/24/1973 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Somerville, MA | |
| Country | USA |
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 15 - 4 - 0 (Win-Loss-Draw) |
| Wins | 5 (T)KOs 8 Submissions 2 Decisions |
| Losses | 1 (T)KOs 1 Submissions 2 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | Chris Lytle | X | UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson | 1/17/2009 | X | X | |
| Win | Paul Kelly | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben | 10/18/2008 | 2 | 2:16 | Won Fight of the Night Honors; Won Submission of the Night Honors |
| Loss | Mike Swick | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 85: Bedlam | 6/07/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Jess Liaudin | KO (Punch) | UFC 80: Rapid Fire | 1/19/2008 | 1 | 1:04 | |
| Win | Paul Taylor | Submission (Armbar) | UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion | 9/08/2007 | 1 | 4:14 | Won Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night Honors |
| Win | Jason Tan | KO (Punch) | UFC 72: Victory | 6/16/2007 | 1 | 1:15 | Won Knock Out of the Night Honors |
| Win | Pete Spratt | Submission (Achilles Lock) | UFC 69: Shootout | 4/07/2007 | 2 | 2:57 | |
| Win | Shonie Carter | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC Fight Night 7 | 12/13/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Forrest Petz | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | UFC: The Final Chapter | 10/10/2006 | 1 | 4:58 | |
| Win | Mike Vaughn | Submission (Armbar) | Wild Bill's: Fight Night 4 | 9/09/2006 | 1 | 4:14 | |
| Win | Jason Hathaway | TKO | Wild Bill's: Fight Night 3 | 7/14/2006 | 1 | N/A | |
| Win | Doug Gordon | Decision (Unanimous) | CFFC 1: Cage Fury Fighting Championships 1 | 6/30/2006 | 3 | N/A | |
| Win | Craig Gunder | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | CZ 16: In the Cage 2 | 5/13/2006 | 1 | N/A | |
| Win | Andy Normington | Submission (Neck Crank) | CZ 14: In the Cage | 4/08/2006 | 1 | 1:41 | |
| Loss | Melvin Guillard | TKO (Cut) | The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale | 11/05/2005 | 2 | 2:55 | |
| Win | Renat Myzabekov | Submission (Armbar) | CZ 10: Ground War | 4/02/2005 | 1 | 1:19 | |
| Win | Shawn Gay | TKO | CZ 7: Gravel Pit | 7/10/2004 | 1 | 1:33 | |
| Loss | Nuri Shakir | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | MMA: Eruption | 4/30/2004 | 3 | 2:38 | |
| Loss | Thiago Alves | Decision (Split) | HFC 2: Hardcore Fighting Championships 2 | 10/18/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Shawn Gay | TKO | ISCF: Friday Night Fights | 8/22/2003 | 1 | 2:09 | |
Biography
Marcus Davis grew up in a single parent home. His grandfather, Kenneth Thayer, was a former pro boxer. When the grownups in his neighborhood would get together to hoist a few, conversation would inevitably turn to his triumphs in the ring. Such talk never failed to impress young Marcus, who would listen and take note that his grandfather let otehrs brag about his fistic exploits.
His first stint into martial arts was in karate.
As a teenager, he would sneak out of the house to wait for the bars to close so he could pick fights with drunks.
Karate turned into Tae Kwon Do. He trained in the same dojang as Joe Rogan.
Boxing Career
Marcus began boxing at 14, turning pro at the age of 19 with a second round TKO of Luis Guzman in April 1993. He compiled a professional record of 17-1-2 over the next seven years on the New England circuit. In his last fight as a boxer, he suffered a knockout loss to 34 year old Ed Bryant which lead him to reconsider his future as a successful boxer. He then became excited with the challenge of mixed martial arts, much to the bemusement of his peers. Considered on the cusp of the big-time as the number one ranked super middleweight in New England before losing to Ed Bryant, he retired from boxing after the knockout loss in October 2000.
Martial Arts Background
Prior to boxing, Marcus did martial arts from the age of eight. In 1995, Davis, then based in Massachusetts, started grappling training with Joe Maffei. In 1997, he moved back to Bangor and opened up an MMA school, while running a bar. The doormen took classes at the school, one of whom was Tim Sylvia. After Tim joined Miletich Fighting Systems in 2000, Marcus quickly followed. More recently, he has trained with Mark Dellagrotte and his own team in Bangor, Team Irish. He also frequently visits Jorge Gurgel's main MMA academy in West Chester, Ohio. He and Gurgel struck up a friendship on The Ultimate Fighter 2.
Mixed martial arts career
Marcus Davis entered professional MMA on August 22, 2003 with a first round TKO of Shaun Gay. Though later describing himself as "one-dimensional", he put together a 3-2 pro MMA record.
In 2005, Marcus was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2. 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. He was later brought back in episode 10 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. Marcus fought on the undercard of the finale, where he lost to Melvin Guillard.
Following the series, Davis strongly considered retirement but recuperated from a shoulder injury picked up against Joe Stevenson and went back to MMA training. He has subsequently bounced back with 11 wins, including a triumphant return to the UFC at Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter. He now considers himself a mixed martial artist and not a boxer fighting in MMA.
In Davis' fight against Paul Taylor at UFC 75 in London, England he was knocked down by a kick to the neck, but was able to recover, gain a dominant position, and secure an armbar as Taylor desperately scrambled to regain control. Marcus won Fight of the night as well as submission of the night for that fight. For earning the submission and fight of the night awards, he was awarded $80,000 in bonuses. His next fight was a KO win against Jess Liaudin at UFC 80 in Newcastle, England.
Marcus Davis lost his last fight against Mike Swick at UFC 85 by unanimous decision, ending his six-fight undefeated streak in the octagon and eleven-fight winning streak in MMA.
Davis appeared at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's pay-per-view event Lockdown in April 2008 as Samoa Joe's personal trainer for his TNA World Heavyweight Championship match. He also presented the winner of the match with the TNA Championship.
Plastic Surgery
Davis recently had plastic surgery to remove scar tissue around his eyes accumulated from years of boxing and MMA.
"I've got some pictures -- there was some nasty scar tissue," he explained. "The whole inside of my eye was scar tissue. It was just crazy to see it.
"Then [Las Vegas plastic surgeon Frank Stile] went in with a chisel and kind of a file and smoothed out the bone structure, because I have very jagged, pointy eyebrow bones. My orbital bones are very pointy. [He] shaved them down and smoothed them out."
The surgeon also inserted pledgets -- pads of cadaver skin and collagen -- over the bones of Davis' eyes. The pads will eventually dissolve, bonding with the skin to make it thicker and tougher. Davis hopes the repair work will curtail the cuts that have been all too common in his fights.
Personal life
Marcus is twice married and twice divorced. He has four children, Monica, Alexis,Emma, and Duncan. His family comes from Waterford, Ireland.
