Terry Davinney will return to the Bellator cage tomorrow night for the first time since 2012 as he will meet Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in a feature light heavyweight bout on the main card of Bellator 121.
Back in his Bellator debut at the end of 2012, he made a splash as he scored the second fastest victory in Bellator light heavyweight history as he defeated current Ultimate Fighter 19 contestant Matt Van Buren by knockout in fifteen seconds.
Following the victory over Van Buren at Bellator 82, Davinney (10-7) considered walking away from the sport of mixed martial arts due to the fact of several opponents pulling out of scheduled fights.
“I was actually contemplating walking away from the sport after that knockout of Matt Van Buren because it was the biggest win of my career and I just didn’t see myself going anywhere,” Davinney said. “I had three opponents back out of fights I had scheduled after that and didn’t end up fighting for about a year.”
Since the victory over Van Burren, he has dropped back to back fights and both of those defeats have come by stoppage in the first round. His most recent defeat came in April against former Bellator tournament fighter Travis Wiuff and he has not scored a victory since winning his Bellator debut.
Currently, Sokoudjou (14-12) is over a two and half to one favorite on the betting lines and Davinney loves it that people are expecting him to lose. He is motivated by the people that are doubting him and he wants to prove all of those people wrong.
“I’m coming out there to beat Sokoudjou,” Davinney said. “This isn’t the first time where I’ve been brought in as an opponent. This isn’t the first time where I was expected to lose. I love it. To be honest, I’m motivated by everyone that thinks I shouldn’t win. Maybe it’s the Irish in me but I’m stubborn and I always want to prove everyone wrong.”
Davinney is obviously excited for this opportunity to face Sokoudjou as a win could open up doors for him in Bellator. One thing that Davinney can promise for people that turn into Bellator 121 tomorrow night on Spike TV is that his fight with Sokoudjou will not go the distance.
“Regardless of whether I win or lose, this fight is not going to a decision and everyone is going to be on their feet.”