Name Marcus Davis
Nickname The Irish Hand Granade
Association Team Sityodtong
Weight Class Welterweight (170 lbs.)
Height 5′ 10″ (178 cm)
Style Boxing
Birth Date August 24, 1973
Fighting Out Of Bangor, Maine
Country USA
Marcus Davis Pictures [http://irishhandgrenade.com/ Davis’ Official Site]

”’Marcus Paul Davis”’ nicknamed “The Irish Hand Grenade” (and “The Celtic Warrior” while fighting in Northern Ireland), is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a welterweight. Davis currently competes for the Canadian-based Maximum Fighting Championship. Davis is 15 time veteran of the UFC and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2 Team Hughes vs Team Franklin.

== Professional Record ==

Record 21 – 9 – 0 (Win â€Â“ Loss â€Â“ Draw) (1 NC)
Wins 6 (T)KOs
9 Submissions
6 Decisions
Losses 3 (T)KOs
2 Submissions
4 Decisions
Result Opponent Method Event Title Date Round Time Notes
NC Waachiim Spiritwolf NC (Spiritwolf Kneed in Groin) Bellator 93 Jansen vs Held 3/21/2013 1 3:05
Win David Bielkheden Decision (Unanimous) SC 8: Malmo 10/6/2012 3 5:00
Loss Chuck O’Neilck O Decision (Split) W-1 MMA 7: Reloaded 10/15/2011 3 5:00
Win Travis Coyle Submission (Guillotine Choke) GFL 13: Heavy Hitters 9/23/2011 1 1:07
Win Pete Spratt Decision (Unanimous) MFC 30 Up Close and Personal 6/10/2011 3 5:00
Win Curtis Demarce Decision (Split) MFC 29 Conquer 4/08/2011 3 5:00
Loss Jeremy Stephens KO (Punch) UFC 125 Resolution 1/01/2011 3 2:33 Released by UFC following loss
Loss Nate Diaz Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke) UFC 118 Edgar vs Penn 2 8/28/2010 3 4:02 Won Fight of the Night Honors
Win Jonathan Goulet TKO (Punches) UFC 113 Machida vs Shogun 2 5/08/2010 2 1:23
Loss Ben Saunders KO (Knee and Punches) UFC 106 Ortiz vs Griffin II 11/21/2009 1 3:24
Loss Dan Hardy Decision (Split) UFC 99 The Comeback 6/13/2009 3 5:00
Win Chris Lytle Decision (Split) UFC 93 Franklin vs Henderson 1/17/2009 3 5:00 Won Fight of the Night Honors
Win Paul Kelly Submission (Guillotine Choke) UFC 89 Bisping vs Leben 10/18/2008 2 2:16
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 Sanchez vs Riggs 12/13/2006 3 5:00
Win Forrest Petz Submission (Guillotine Choke) [[UFC Fight Night 6 5 Ortiz vs Shamrock 3 â€Â“ The Final Chapter]] 10/10/2006 1 4:58
Win Mike Vaughn Submission (Armbar) Wild Bill’s: Fight Night 4 9/08/2006 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 Technical 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 ==
=== 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 TKO loss to 34 year old Ed Bryant which led 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 TKO 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 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. He got back to winning ways with a submission victory over England’s Paul Kelly at UFC 89 and split decision victory over Chris Lytle at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland.

Davis’ latest fight was on January 17, 2009, against Chris Lytle at UFC 93. Both fighters are former boxers and had discussed a potential fight in their futures since early 2008. Lytle called out Davis at UFC 89. He suggested that the fight take place in Ireland, where Davis had garned a substantial following due to his emphasis on his Irish roots. Leading up to the event, both fighters promised to stand and trade blows for the entire fight, rather than engage in grappling. Lytle managed to stun Davis several times, but Davis used superior footwork, counterpunching, and kicks to win a split decision. The bout shared Fight of the Night honors with the Coleman/Rua co-main event, earning Davis a $40,000 bonus.

=== Fight with Hardy ===
Davis fought on June 13, 2009 against Dan Hardy. The fight began getting personal when Davis started fighting in the UK against English fighters defeating them all in spectacular fashion. Hardy stated it was his home and he did not want Davis in it, building a fan base. Hardy later started insulting Davis calling him a fake Irishman and saying his website looked like a St. Patrick’s day parade blown up. Then on Cagewarriors.com, Hardy posted pictures of Davis asking them to be photoshopped, resulting in many edited in a ‘humourous’ fashions. Some of these edits included homosexual imagery, which touched a nerve with Davis and increased the ill-feeling between the two. Dan Hardy won the fight via a narrow split decision after a 3 round battle. After the fight, Davis expressed his anger at the decision, stating “I won the fight, I won 12 minutes of the fight and they gave it to him? You bet I want a rematch, right away.”

=== Post-UFC 99 ===
After losing to Hardy, Davis returned at UFC 106 Ortiz vs Griffin II on November 21, 2009 to face off against Ben Saunders, who was coming off a loss to Mike Swick. Davis would go on to be defeated in the first round due to knees and punches, making Saunders the first and only person to KO Davis to date.

“The game plan originally was to jump right on him, to give him no room at all, get in his face and smother everything and overwhelm him with speed on the inside. But I wasn’t able to do that … I’ve worked with guys that were 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4, but he just seemed much taller. I don’t know why, but his reach and his height just seemed to be much taller. To be honest, I thought it was going to be a very easy fight and I was completely wrong. That was shocking to me. I did think it was going to be easy because I felt as though I had enough experience and because he was so thin, it was going to be easy to overpower him. I don’t know what’s next. I have no idea. I don’t know what the UFC is going to do,” stated a dejected Marcus Davis.

On a two fight slide, Davis was in much need of a win, and he was later scheduled to face off against Canadian Jonathan Goulet in Montreal, Canada at UFC 113 Machida vs Shogun. After a closely contested first round, Davis used a perfectly placed right hand to drop his opponent in the opening seconds of the next frame. Goulet briefly recovered but the crashed to the mat for a final time when Davis unloaded a vicious uppercut. The former boxer followed Goulet to the mat and connected with additional blows until referee Phillipe Chartrier halted the action at the 1:23 mark of the round, giving Davis the win by way of TKO (Punches).

Looking to build a win streak, Davis next faced Nick Diaz, who had recently moved up in weight to compete at Welterweight, on August 27, 2010 at UFC 118 Edgar vs Penn 2. Davis was cut early above the right eye with a slicing left hook and spent three rounds trying to fight a game Diaz with his one good eye. Davis continually wiped away blood as Diaz used a traditional game plan with a steady stream of strikes. “The Irish Hand Grenade” kept things even through two rounds. By the third round, with his eye blown up from a hematoma and bleeding profusely, Davis probably couldn’t even see Diaz’s final takedown. Davis tried to escape once on the mat, but Diaz quickly slapped on a tight Guillotine Choke. Referee Yves Lavigne halted the bout at the 4:02 mark of the final frame with Davis clearly out cold. The fight went on to win the Fight of the Night Honors.

In an interview with MMA Junkie Davis confirmed he would drop to the lightweight division for his next UFC appearance and said he made the decision after the realization that his frame is better suited for 155 pounds. Davis also confirmed that he is contemplating retirement stating “I’m going to finish out my career at 155 and try to entertain some people along the way before my old ass retires,” Davis also stated “That’s where I’m normally and naturally going to be, so that’s where I’m going to fight right now,” he said of the 155-pound lightweight division. “It does make more sense that I should be able to compete better at that weight for the fact that the weight difference isn’t going to be so dramatic.”

Davis fought Jeremy Stephens at UFC 125 Resolution. Despite dominating the majority of the fight, at 2:33 of the third round, Davis was knocked out by a right hook.

==Post-UFC==

On January 6, it was announced that Davis had been released by the UFC after losing four out of his last five bouts. On February 25th 2011 it was announced that Davis signed a contract with the Maximum Fighting Championship.

== Personal Life ==
Marcus is twice married and twice divorced. He has four children, Monica, Alexis, Emma, and Duncan. His family comes from Waterford, Ireland.

== Ranks and Titles ==
* 32-2 as an amateur boxer
* Former USKBA MMA champion, former USBF regional boxing champion
* Black belt in Choi Shin Do