In a fight that lasted way too long, Mike Davis beat Thomas Gifford from pillar to post at UFC Tampa en route to a third-round knockout.
Mike Davis took this fight on four days’ notice, replacing Brok Weaver at UFC Tampa. He fell in a short notice debut against Gilbert Burns. Thomas Gifford comes into this one after losing in his UFC debut.
Mike Davis came out landed combination after combination. Gifford had no answer early on, getting wobbled by an uppercut. Davis was totally loose for this short notice fights, as his strikes were on the money and landing with ease. A huge left landed, but Gifford stood strong, even eating a front kick to the chin. Gifford kept walking forward like a zombie, barely reacting to the huge blows of Davis. One combination connected on the button, sending Gifford stumbling to the fence. Davis knocked him down, but had to fight off submission attempts from Gifford. Davis ended the round postured up and landing punches, but Gifford survived.
Davis took it easy in the second round, not exactly pouring on the combinations but picking his shots. Gifford went for an Imanari roll, but came up empty-handed. Davis landed more and more as he continued to open up his striking. Gifford shot for a takedown, but ended up on his back, eating more punches. A big knee from Davis put a stamp on a dominant round as Michael Bisping pleaded for the fight to be stopped.
A combination landed for Davis out of the gate. Gifford was throwing, but not landing anything effective. Gifford went in for a takedown, nearly taking the back of Davis, but Davis bucked him off, then landed a big knee. Gifford started to land more often, but Davis was just in much better shape after delivering all the damage in the bout. Davis shrugged off another takedown and landed more ground-and-pound. The fight returned to the feet, and a leg kick sent him down. Gifford returned to the feet, and finally, mercifully, a right straight sent him face-first to the canvas. Michael Bisping directed a frustrated, “Happy now?” to the referee after the knockout.
Mike Davis def. Thomas Gifford by KO (Right Straight) in Round 3 (4:55)
