Phil Davis was able to show the improvements in his striking game in his unanimous decision victory over Vinny Magalhaes on the main card of UFC 159.
Davis was able to implement his gameplan of keeping the fight on the feet and staying away from the jiu-jitsu game of his opponent.
In the opening round, Davis appeared to rock Magalhaes but did not capitalize on the opportunity. Magalhaes was able to get the fight to the ground in the first round and had the back of Davis. However, Davis was able to get back to his feet and dominated the rest of the action.
In the second and third rounds, Davis continued to push the pace and was able to land his strikes without taking much damage from Magalhaes.
At the end of the fight, all three judges scored the fight for Davis with two of the three judges scoring all three rounds for the former Penn State wrestler. Davis has now won back to back fights and is 7-1, 1NC in his nine career UFC fights.
UFC 159 Results:
Phil Davis def. Vinny Magalhaes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Pat Healy def. Jim Miller via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:02
Rustam Khabilov def. Yancy Medeiros via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 2:32
Ovince St. Preux def. Gian Villante via majority technical decision (30-28, 30-29, 29-29)
Sara McMann def. Sheila Gaff via TO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:06
Bryan Caraway def. Johnny Bedford via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 4:44
Cody McKenzie def. Leonard Garcia via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Steven Siler def. Kurt Holobaugh via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)