L.C. Davis has been competing in mixed martial arts in 2006 and he has competed in the International Fight League, Affliction, WEC, Titan Fighting Championship, and now Bellator MMA.
His debut in Bellator MMA came back in March as he defeated Taurean Bogguess by guillotine choke submission at the end of the first round.
Since dropping down to bantamweight, Davis (21-6) has won five of six fights and he will look for his second straight win on Friday night as he meets Zeilton Rodrigues at Bellator 124.
When he decided to come to Bellator earlier this year, he came to the organization for one reason, which was to become a world champion. He wants to finish his career strong and some people may ask him, why does he continue to fight. The answer to the question is simple, his legacy.
“The main reason I’m still fighting this for my legacy,” Davis said. “I’ve been doing this for quite a while now and it’s time for me to get what I deserve. I want to finish on top. My goal has always been to become a world champion. That’s what’s driving me right now.”
“A championship belt is the only thing missing in my career. That’s it, man. That’s it. I’ve fought on national TV, I’ve fought on pay-per-view, I’ve fought big names, been ranked in the top 10 in the world. I don’t think there’s a lot left for me to accomplish outside of becoming the world champ. That’s why I’m still fighting and I’m going to keep fighting until I get it.”
No matter what someone does for a career, there is some type of motivation. Providing a home for their family, being well-respected in their career, and various other reasons. For Davis, his motivation comes from his son DaKhari.
“Now that I have a son, I’m more motivated than I’ve ever been before,” he said. “He just loves the fact that I fight. He watches all of my videos and really looks up to me. I want him to be able to grow up and say my dad was a world champion. I don’t want him to just be able to say that his dad was a good fighter and that he fought on TV. I want him to be able to tell everyone his dad was a world champion. I want to leave a legacy for him. That’s my biggest motivation to get that strap.”
His opponent on Friday night is a virtual unknown to many fans. Rodrigues (12-3) is currently on a six fight winning streak and is known for being a finisher as eleven of his wins have come by stoppage. With his opponent being relatively an unknown, Davis feels it’s important to go out on Friday night and make a statement.
“Honestly, I don’t know a lot about Zeilton Rodrigues,” Davis said. “I’ve seen a couple of his fight videos. I know that he’s never fought outside of Brazil. I also know he trains with a great camp at Nova Uniao, so I’m sure he’ll be well prepared.”
“It’s really important for me to go out there and make a big statement in this fight with Zeilton Rodrigues. He’s not really a well-known guy and everyone expects for me to go out there and win. So being that I’m expected to win this fight, I think it’s more important that I go out there, make a statement and finish this guy. A win is always good but a big finish is what’s going to put me closer to my goal.”
Rodrigues was initially not the opponent that Davis was targeted to take place on this card. He was initially targeted to take on a much bigger name in Bellator and that fighter is a former title challenger.
“I was originally supposed to fight Marcos Galvao in this fight, and I would still love to make that fight happen sometime soon,” Davis said. “I’ve never been big on calling guys out but he’s ranked higher than me and looked at as a contender in the division. He’s a guy that fought both of the champs, Eduardo Dantas and Joe Warren. So just based on all of that, he’s an opponent that makes sense for me and my ultimate goal of becoming a champion.”
“Basically, anyone that’s ranked higher than me, I want to fight them. I’m trying to create a legacy here. At this point in my career I don’t want a lot of opponents like Zeilton Rodrigues. I’m just looking to make a statement in this fight and move on to fight a guy with a name, that’s ranked higher than me, or both.”