A recovering Marcus Davis agrees to UFC 89 bout with Paul Kelly

pa99fighter · 07-11-2008, 07:11 PM

Quote:

A recovering Marcus Davis agrees to UFC 89 bout with Paul Kelly
by John Morgan on Jul 11, 2008 at 7:37 pm ET
UFC welterweight Marcus Davis (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has verbally agreed to face undefeated British fighter Paul Kelly (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England.

MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) spoke with Davis about the bout, as well his recovery from a previously undisclosed injury he suffered before a June loss to Mike Swick.

"I don't think (the fight with Kelly) is official yet," Davis said. "I haven't received the contract to fight [Kelly] yet. But [the UFC] called to ask me, and I said yes, and I guess they asked him and he said yes."

Davis will be looking to bounce back not only from a snapped 11-fight win streak but also a devastating shoulder injury sustained in the weeks leading up to his UFC 85 encounter with Swick.

"Three weeks before the Swick fight, I had torn the connective tissue between my triceps and my rear [deltoid]," Davis said. "I had Cortisone shots for that. Two days before the Swick fight, I couldn't move my arm. So, the UFC was cool enough to send me to an orthopedic doctor in the U.K., and they did an ultrasound on my arm. I had an impingement in the front bursa sac that was like 100 times the size it was supposed to be, and then still that tear in the rear connective tissue. [The doctor] did a guided needle with the ultrasound into the bursa, and drained the bursa. And that lasted for about three-and-a-half hours, and then I couldn't move my arm again.

"The day of the weigh-ins, [the UFC] excused me early. After I weighed in, they let me leave and brought me back [to the doctor] and checked me out. It had swollen right back up again because the needle had aggravated it."

Davis said the UFC asked if he wanted to withdraw from the bout with Swick.

"When we were [at the doctor], there's me, the doctor, (UFC president) Dana White and (UFC owner) Lorenzo Fertitta," Davis said. "And the doctor says, 'I'm worried. I don't think you should fight because you're not going to be able to protect yourself.'

"Dana White looked at me and he said, 'What do you want to do? What are you going to do?'

"I said, 'I just flew 3,000 freaking miles to get in a fight. I'm fighting tomorrow night, regardless.'"

Davis said he suffered the injury during overly intensive weightlifting sessions. The 34-year-old also said it was a mistake he will not make again.

"I got it into my head that I needed to be this big, strong, powerful guy," Davis said. "I went a little too heavy with that weightlifting. I went a little crazy with it. That was my mistake, and that's how I got that injury. I was throwing up ridiculous amounts of weight and ended up just hurting myself. I'm not going to make that mistake that time with this fight."

Although Davis' name had been mentioned with title-fight implications prior to the loss to Swick, "The Irish Hand Grenade" says his focus is solely on returning to action.

"I fight because I'm a fighter, and I enjoy what I do," Davis said. "It's just about the next fight. It's about being able to fight."

Kelly, meanwhile, made his UFC debut in January with a unanimous-decision victory over Paul Taylor. He's posted six stoppages -- five in the first round -- in his seven career victories. He was previously reported as a rumored UFC 89 opponent for Sam Stout, but instead, will meet Davis, who will fight in the U.K. for the fifth time.

For the latest on UFC 89, which features a main event of Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

Source:A recovering Marcus Davis agrees to UFC 89 bout with Paul Kelly | MMAjunkie.com
I'll be glad to see Marcus Davis back in action.