Tag: Mike Davis

Mike Davis ‘breaking’ after torn bicep forces him out of UFC on ESPN 59: ‘This kills my f*cking soul’

Injury plagued in recent years, Mike Davis revealed in an emotional post that his UFC Denver fight is off and surgery will be needed.

[autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag] can’t catch a break.

A torn bicep has forced Davis (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) out of his UFC on ESPN 59 matchup vs. [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag] (27-12 MMA, 13-8 UFC) on July 13 at Ball Arena in Denver.

A devastated Davis took to Instagram to post a video of the exact moment the injury happened, as he vented his frustration on his string of bad luck throughout his UFC career.

“Journal entry: June 16, 2024

“This kills me man….

“Completely tore my bicep during my sparring rounds on Tuesday. June 11th. Resulting in 3.5in retraction in my bicep.

“Yes, I need surgery. They have to reattach the tendon by drilling it back into the bone.

“I’m so f*cking disappointed…I try so f*cking hard… I’m dealt such a sh*t hand in life full of skill and talent that I cant even use..

“I trained so f*cking hard for this. Running sprints at the track every week in 100°, Training twice a day, which I NEVER do, Doing extra drills and pad work, Running 3 miles before every.single. session, every. f*cking. day.

“I even prepped my last 3 weeks of camp to be in Colorado so I could adapt.

“So much time, effort and money…for nothing.

“You have no idea how much this kills my f*cking soul.
All I know is that I can’t give up…
I’m the only one left in my life that’s even remotely capable.

“….. I want to give up so bad

“Maybe I should do an online programming degree while I’m sitting with the surgery. I just don’t know anymore
I’m breaking.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8W6vqixoDm/

Davis (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) recently returned in March from an 18-month layoff ( also due to injuries) to submit Natan Levy at UFC Fight Night 239. The 31-year-old was looking to make it five straight vs. Dober.

It’s unclear if Dober will remain on the card.

With the change, the UFC on ESPN 59 lineup includes:

  • Maycee Barber vs. Rose Namajunas
  • Mike Malott vs. Gilbert Urbina
  • Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
  • Mariya Agapova vs. Luana Santos
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
  • Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
  • Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski
  • MarQuel Mederos vs. Nazim Sadykhov
  • Drew Dober vs. TBA

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC adds Drew Dober vs. Mike Davis to July 13 lineup in Denver

A lightweight banger between Drew Dober and Mike Davis is headed to Denver.

A lightweight banger is headed to Denver.

[autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night on July 13 from Ball Arena in Denver. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following an initial report from The Denver Post.

Tied with Dustin Poirier for most knockouts in UFC lightweight history, Dober’s past seven wins have come by knockout. Dober (27-12 MMA, 13-8 UFC) will look to rebound on home soil after dropping a unanimous decision to Renato Moicano at UFC Fight Night 235 in February.

Davis (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) returned from an 18-month layoff due to injuries to submit Natan Levy at UFC Fight Night 239 in March. The 31-year-old has won four straight since dropping his short-notice UFC debut to Gilbert Burns.

With the addition, the July 13 lineup includes:

  • Maycee Barber vs. Rose Namajunas
  • Mike Malott vs. Gilbert Urbina
  • Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
  • Mariya Agapova vs. Luana Santos
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
  • Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
  • Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski
  • Mike Davis vs. Drew Dober

UFC’s Mike Davis explains how ‘Halo’ video game helped overcome childhood bullying: ‘That saved my life’

Bullied as a child with no friends, UFC’s Mike Davis explains how the “Halo” video game helped him overcome bullying and self-harm.

LAS VEGAS – Long before [autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag] began making a name for himself in the UFC’s lightweight division, he was a kid from New York struggling with thoughts of self-harm as a result of bullying.

Today, Davis (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is an incredible mixed martial artist, who just recorded his fourth-consecutive victory at UFC Fight Night 239 by stopping Natan Levy in the second round with an arm triangle choke.

It was the first time anyone finished Levy (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC). Next, Davis aims to make two more appearances in 2024 and doesn’t really have a preference for an opponent.

In the meantime, Davis plans to return home and get back to streaming video games. He takes pride in this activity, as he loves communicating with people who join his streams. More importantly, it is an evolution of an outlet that he says saved his life.

“I like The Last of Us, but the game that saved my life was ‘Halo,'” Davis told reporters when asked about his favorite video game at a post-fight news conference.

Naturally, the second half of that sentence prompted follow-up questions, as it was a heavy way to finish the response. Davis proceeded to recall how he was bullied as a child, which led to self-harm.

“When I grew up as a kid – I’m from upstate New York. As you can probably guess, there’s not a lot of Black people, so I got picked on a lot,” Davis explained. “I was also really small, like a tiny child. So, I got stuffed in lockers, called names, got picked up and put in the basketball – bro, I got picked on.

“A lot of the times, I would find myself in the bathroom trying to inflict pain on myself. I would take a rubber band with toothpicks and shoot them into my leg. That could cause me pain. I didn’t have friends. I didn’t, I really didn’t.”

Luckily, Davis found his escape from bullying and negative thoughts through video games, specifically “Halo.” The first-person sci-fi shooter is one of the highest-grossing gaming franchises of all time, and is one that helped a now-talented UFC lightweight find a purpose to keep living.

“What saved my life was after school, I would go home, I would turn on the Xbox that I was gifted from my Mom – it was amazing. She worked hard to get it, and I got ‘Halo,'” Davis said. “I met friends. I met friends in the area, I met friends across the globe. Every day, the only thing that made me want to keep going was to jump on Halo and play with my friends.”

Years after the bullying ceased, Davis has transformed into a high-level UFC athlete, currently riding high on a four-fight winning streak in one of the sport’s toughest divisions. However, some of those bullies have tried to keep in touch with Davis, offering remorse for their actions.

“There’s all the apologies,” Davis said. “‘Hey Mike, sorry for picking on you back in the day. You know I was only trying to help you grow into a better man.’ Bro, it’s been dumb. It’s dumb stuff.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 239.

UFC Fight Night 239 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Ovince Saint Preux leads with $21,000

UFC Fight Night 239 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 239 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $189,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 239 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 239 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Ange Loosa[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Isaac Dulgarian[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Macy Chiasson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Bryan Barberena[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Natan Levy[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Chelsea Chandler[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josiane Nunes[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jafel Filho[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ode Osbourne[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Danny Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josh Culibao[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jaqueline Amorim[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Mitch Ramirez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chad Anheliger[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Charalampos Grigoriou[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2391 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,551,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $24,258,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 239.

UFC Fight Night 239 video: Mike Davis becomes first to finish Natan Levy

Natan Levy is known for his submission skills, but Mike Davis flipped the script at UFC Fight Night 239.

[autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag] hadn’t fought for 18 months. In case anyone forgot him, he returned with a statement Saturday at UFC Fight Night 239.

On the preliminary card at the UFC Apex, Davis (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) became the first opponent to finish Israel’s [autotag]Natan Levy[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who he submitted at 1:43 of Round 2.

Davis edged the first round, but his success on the scorecards didn’t hinder his determination to finish. When the fight hit the canvas in Round 2, Davis worked his way to an arm-triangle choke from mount, squeezed, and got the tap.

After the fight, Davis suggested a matchup against Paddy Pimblett, Jim Miller, Clay Guida, or Vinc (Pichel) next. The victory was his fourth in a row, despite his intermittent appearances.

Levy, who missed weight by half a pound, had a two-fight winning streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 239 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 239.

Former Ravens RB Mike Davis retires from the NFL

Mike Davis retires from the NFL

Running back Mike Davis, who played for six NFL teams in eight seasons, announced on Monday morning that he’s retiring from the NFL on his 31st birthday.

Davis recorded 2,052 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns and 1,066 receiving yards with four touchdowns during time spent in Seattle, San Francisco, Carolina, Atlanta, Chicago, and Baltimore.

A standout in the SEC at South Carolina, Davis logged 2,440 yards and 22 touchdowns in his three years with the Gamecocks from 2012 to 2014.

Davis was taken in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the 49ers and became a reliable option in the backfield throughout his career.

Former Seahawks RB Mike Davis announces retirement from NFL

We could spend all day just naming old Seahawks running backs.

We could spend all day just naming old Seahawks running backs. So many great players have come through Seattle over the years. Not all of them have been superstars like Marshawn Lynch and Shaun Alexander, though. The team has also had a lot of underrated rushers who may hever have made a Pro Bowl roster but ran hard and became fan favorites as a result.

One great example is former Seahawks running back Mike Davis, who just announced his retirement from the NFL yesterday in a birthday post on Elon’s social contagion site.

Davis originally came into the league as a fourth-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2015 NFL draft. He spent two years in San Francisco, then joined the Seahawks for the 2017 season. He wound up playing 21 games in Seattle over the next two seasons, then Davis moved on and played for several more teams. He was out of the league this past season.

Later on, Davis came back and thanked people for the love.

All together Davis appeared in 87 games with six different teams, racking up a little over 2,000 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns

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Former Panthers RB Mike Davis announces retirement on 31st birthday

Mike Davis, who led the Panthers in rushing during the 2020 season, called it a career on his 31st birthday.

An old friend celebrated his birthday by opening up a new chapter in his life.

Running back Mike Davis, who turned 31 years old on Monday, announced his retirement from the NFL this afternoon. Davis played in 20 games for the Carolina Panthers between 2019 and 2020.

The Atlanta, Ga. native and University of South Carolina Gamecock was selected in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He’d spend his first two pro campaigns there, rushing for 108 yards and one touchdown over 14 outings.

Davis, who was released by San Francisco in of May of 2017, would later be claimed off waivers by the division rival Seattle Seahawks. He appeared in 21 games for Seattle—the most in any of his NFL stops—and notched 754 rushing yards and five total scores.

His brief stint for Carolina began in the middle of the 2019 campaign, when he was claimed off waivers from the Chicago Bears. Davis, who filled in for an injured Christian McCaffrey for the better part of the next season, led the team in rushing with 642 yards and six touchdowns in 2020.

He’d then suit up for the Atlanta Falcons in 2021 and the Baltimore Ravens in 2022.

[lawrence-related id=633035,691570,691001]

Former Falcons RB Mike Davis announces he’s retiring from NFL

Former Falcons RB Mike Davis announced his retirement over Twitter on Monday

Former Falcons running back Mike Davis announced his retirement over Twitter on Monday afternoon. Davis, an Atlanta native, spent eight seasons in the NFL after being selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2015 draft.

In 2021, Davis signed with the Falcons and rushed for 503 yards, while adding 44 catches for 259 receiving yards and four total touchdowns.

“As I turn 31 today, I sit back and look on my NFL career and how thankful I am to be apart of a brotherhood,” Davis wrote on Twitter. “This game has allowed me to make a lot of friends and memories. I’m grateful for every organization in NFL. With that being said I’m retiring!”

Davis last played in 2022 for the Baltimore Ravens, appearing in eight games. For his career, Davis rushed for 2,052 yards and 14 touchdowns, with 171 catches for 1,066 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 22-28)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 22-28.