Bochniak (11-5) put on some entertaining scraps during his seven-fight UFC stint from 2016 to 2019, including a Fight of the Night effort against Zabit Magomedsharipov. After exiting the promotion, he returned to action last year under the XMMA banner, winning three straight fights.

Now, he gets a definite step up against 2021 semi-finalist Bubba Jenkins. And Bochniak isn’t just here as a stand-in, he let it be known during Tuesday’s PFL 2 media day.

“I’m going to make my mark known. I’m coming here to shake up the division,” Bochniak told media outlets including Cageside Press. “After this fight, the underdog’s going to be on top, and everybody’s going to hope they don’t get matched up with me.”

Noting the short notice-nature of the fight, Bochniak continued by saying that he wasn’t even sure who Bubba had originally been fighting. “I fought three weeks ago, I’m already in that mindset. I don’t care who’s in front of me. Bubba’s the name, doesn’t really matter. Any one of these guys in this division can get it. I’m a terrible match-up for anyone.”

As to what he brings to the table, “I think I’m one of the mentally strongest guys in this world. I can bring the fight to anyone, I’m a brawler, I can strike technically. On the ground, I can use my jiu-jitsu, I’m extremely difficult to hold on the mat, I’ve got cardio for days.”

He envisions Bubba Jenkins coming out and trying to strike with him, at least initially, at PFL 2. “And once he feels my power, and how comfortable on the feet I am, he’s going to panic wrestle, and he’s going to do desperate shots, we’re going to see him gas out, we’re going to see him look at the clock, we’re going to take his soul and finish the fight.”

Watch the full PFL 2 2022 media day appearance from Kyle Bochniak above. The event takes place this Thursday, April 28, 2022 at the ESports Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The post PFL 2 2022: Kyle Bochniak Says He’s “Here to Shake Up the Division” Ahead of Debut appeared first on Cageside Press.

Jenkins (16-5) returns this Thursday to the PFL for his second season. He lost a unanimous decision to Chris Wade in the semi-finals after being a slight favorite in his last outing. It was Jenkins’ first loss in five years and snapped a five-fight win streak.

The loss also humbled the former NCAA champion.

“I was extremely disappointed. But mostly, I was humbled and hungry. That’s the two H’s that I walked away with after the loss. I was humbled, and then it was the urge to want to get back to that place, the drive,” Jenkins told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview. “So, to get that opportunity and let it slip like that, when it was my opportunity and to lose, it was definitely, definitely devastating. But I’ve been through a lot of things in my life. And, you know, it was one of the things that, you know, if it doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger…But yeah, I was humbled in that fight; I got humbled and ate a lot of humble pie, not only during that fight but afterwards. The Chris Wade fight was an eye opener, for sure.”

Jenkins also revealed that he was dealing with some personal problems leading into his semi-final fight. As a result, he felt like he was already defeated going into the fight.

“I lost that fight before I stepped into the cage,” Jenkins said. “But props to Chris Wade in doing what he did. I’m determined to see him again. You know, of course, we got the world title and we got the million dollars. Those are things to look forward to, but nothing would be better than running that one back.”

“I just had a lot of things going on in my life and wasn’t as focused as I needed to be. I wasn’t as humbled and in my place. I was fighting a divorce, fighting for my children, fighting this and that. So you know, it was a lot going on in the Bubba Jenkins life outside of the cage, and at that time, as much as the million dollars and the championship- there were just bigger things in life for me,” Jenkins said.

“Bad Man” fights Kyle Bochniak on two weeks’ notice this Thursday. He predicts a knockout. “I knock him out in one of two ways: either on his feet or on the ground, and a referee pulls me off.”

Watch the rest of our interview with PFL 2’s Bubba Jenkins above.

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Kyle Bochniak comes into UFC Boston with a 2-4 record for the promotion, falling to talented strikers Hakeem Dawodu and Zabit Magomedsharipov most recently. Sean Woodson will be making his UFC debut after a huge KO knee on the Contender Series.

Sean Woodson was moving with a funky style in the first round, waving his arms around to distract Bochniak, then flying in with a knee. Bochniak was attempting to work his way into Woodson’s range while trying to avoid the intercept knee that punched Woodson’s ticked to the UFC. Bochniak was able to land one two punch combination, but was fed up with the lack of success and drove in for a strong takedown, lifting Woodson up and slamming him down. Woodson worked his way back to his feet and tagged Bochniak with a left hand. Bochniak continued to struggle to close the distance, getting caught with a pair of knees, one of which nearly knocked him down. Bochniak clinched up with Woodson against the cage, but couldn’t do anything off of it. A left straight landed for Woodson at the end of the round.

Left hands were landing with ease for Woodson to start the second round. A big right landed for Bochniak, but Woodson got back to work, moving away from the advancing opponent. Bochniak shot for a takedown that Woodson stuffed with ease. Knees and looping hooks continued to pepper Bochniak. After another failed takedown attempt, Bochniak was wobbled by a left hand, sparking another takedown attempt that amounted to nothing. Woodson was cruising in this bout.

Bochniak came out in the third round looking for a takedown and was met with constant punches from Woodson. After two takedown attempts didn’t succeed, Bochniak threw caution to the wind, but lost the exchange. Woodson landed a big knee as Bochniak came in with a takedown effort, which was again stuffed. Woodson landed a combination and Bochniak put his hands down and aggressively moved forward, daring Woodson to continue to beat him down. Woodson obliged and rocked him with a left. Bochniak was severely outclassed in this fight.

Sean Woodson def. Kyle Bochniak by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 30-26)

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Boston, MA — If there was ever a time for Kyle Bochniak to put on a big performance, it’s this Friday at UFC Boston — UFC on ESPN 6 — against Sean Woodson.

Bochniak, a Massachusetts native, enters the bout on a two-fight win streak. Well aware, he told media outlets including Cageside Press at Wednesday’s media day, of what three losses in a row can mean in the UFC.

“It’s time to put up or shut up. I’m going in there, throwing down, and not holding anything back. Looking to get a win, but not just a win but an impressive win.” If all goes according to plan, Bochniak added, he’ll negotiate a new deal, and “make my run in 2020.”

Heading into UFC Boston, Bochniak said that “I feel more mentally prepared than I’ve ever felt in my whole entire career. I’m in a good spot right now. I had a long layoff. I had a good performance against Zabit [Magomedsharipov], I had a subpar performance against Hakeem [Dawodu].”

The Zabit fight certainly was memorable, a Fight of the Night showing at UFC 228. Months later, the came could not be said of his fight against Dawodu at UFC 231 in Toronto.

Bochniak hasn’t been seen since. “Had a bad injury, ten months layoff,” he explained.

“Financially everything sucks, but it builds character,” he added. “I realized why I got in this in the first place. I’m back to my true self.”

Against Woodson, Bochniak’s “looking to go in there and not let anything hold me back,” he said Wednesday. While he plans on showing controlled chaos, a controlled ‘Crash,’ Bochniak added that “when my opportunity comes I will jump on it.”

As for fighting in Boston once again, “I’m sure when I walk out it’s going to feel like the main event, my adrenaline’s going to be going, I’m going to feel like a superhero,” he said. But in the end, “before you know it, fifteen minutes will be over, like ‘what the hell just happened?'”

“That’s how it goes,” he finished.

Watch the full UFC Boston media day press scrum with Kyle Bochniak above!

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Hakeem Dawodu is a skilled striker who joined the UFC with a 42-4 kickboxing record underneath his belt. However, he did not live up to the hype in his Octagon debut, getting submitted in the first minute. Dawodu bounced back with a decision victory over Austin Arnett in his last appearance.

Kyle Bochniak is a brawler who entered many fans’ radars during his gutsy performance against Zabit Magomedsharipov. Bochniak is 2-3 in the Octagon, but always brings it.

Dawodu started the fight off with a head kick attempt followed by a two-punch combination, with neither landing cleanly. Through the first minute, Bochniak had yet to find his range, not throwing anything with conviction. However, he was avoiding Dawodu’s strikes. Bochniak slid in with a right hook that caught Dawodu, as his opponent landed a glancing counter.

Bochniak was caught off balance by a counter right that Dawodu threw after catching a kick, but there was no follow-up. With a minute left in the round, Bochiak landed a clean double-leg takedown, and forced Dawodu to the fence after he popped up. Dawodu was taken down once more before separating from his opponent prior to the end of the round.

Dawodu started the round with a leg kick and a combination. Dawodu was a bit more hesitant to start the second, perhaps due to the takedown threat. A threat that Bochniak reminded him of by catching a low kick and forcing Dawodu to roll backward. Another combination landed for Dawodu as Bochniak landed a shot on the exit. Dawodu landed a counter-right as Bochniak was still struggling to truly figure out the kickboxer on the feet. Bochniak went for a late takedown, but Dawodu avoided several attempts successfully.

Dawodu was showing a bit more style to start the final round, throwing several kicks including a spinning attack. Bochniak caught a kick, but Dawodu kept his balance until they hit cage, where he was dragged down. After some top control, Dawodu worked his way up and landed a right hand that snapped the head of Bochniak back. Bochniak faded in the final minute, with Dawodu landing several hard shots including a nice body kick at the final bell.

Hakeem Dawodu def. Kyle Bochniak by Split Decision (30-27 x2, 28-29)

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UFC 223 went down Saturday in Brooklyn, New York, and proved to be a more exciting affair in the cage than the frankly ravaged card looked on paper. Thrilling bouts between Felice Herrig and Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Zabit Magomedovsharipov and Kyle Bochniak, plus Rose Namajunas defending her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk all brought enough action to contend for Fight of the Night. With just two stoppages on the card, mind you, there weren’t too many fighters in the running for Performance of the Night — though perhaps the promotion would break tradition and pick one combatant from a fight that went the distance?

Well, maybe some day. At UFC 223, however, the UFC went with the only two fighters who provided finishes on the card, granting both Performance of the Night awards. First up, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, who put on a career-best performance against Evan Dunham on the preliminary card. ‘OAM,’ who spoke to Cageside Press about his desire to jump on the Brooklyn card after a prior fight with Gilbert Burns was scrapped just weeks ago, made short work of the gritty Dunham. A couple of big knees knocked the wind, and the fight out of him, and Aubin-Mercier (11–2) suddenly had the first TKO finish of his career.

After the bout, ‘The Quebec Kid’ transformed into ‘The Canadian Gangster,’ having some fun in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “Yo, I just wanted to be a Canadian gangster,” he told Rogan. “I have a stache, I say sorry, I cry, I don’t give a fox!”

The Canadian Gangster 🇨🇦@OliAubin #UFC223 pic.twitter.com/1hQNdTLKhE

— UFC (@ufc) April 8, 2018

Also rewarded for forcing a corner stoppage after the second, Chris Gruetzemacher picked up $50,000. His opponent, veteran and fan fave Joe Lauzon, was strong out of the gate, but faded fast, taking tons of punishment by the end of the second round. Bloodied and swollen, Lauzon may want to rethink continuing on given the damage he’s taken over the years.

Fight of the Night was awarded to the thrilling affair between Zabit Magomedsharipov and Kyle Bochniak. ‘ZaBeast’ displayed the creative striking and the well-rounded game he’s become famous for, while Bochniak refused to back down, goading his opponent and doing whatever he could to stay in the fight.

All four bonus winners will receive $50,000 U.S. for their efforts.

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Potential featherweight star Zabit Magomedsharipov returned at UFC 223 on Saturday night in Brooklyn, NY. ‘ZaBeast’ was making his third trip to the octagon, and the exciting Russian fighter was a potential bonus winner in the minds of many. The flashy striker, equally skilled on the ground, had already picked up two bonuses in the first two fights of his UFC career.

Kyle Bochniak, meanwhile, was looking to derail the hype train of Magomedsharipov.

It was Bochniak pushing forward and closing the distance to start this featherweight battle. The taller, rangier Zabit was able to stay out of harm’s way, and as always, looked loose and ready. He unleashed a snapping leg kick, while Bochniak fired back. A spinning kick, lightening fast, came from Zabit next. A jumping switch kick flew later in the round. Magomedsharipov was again putting on a clinic, firing off a high kick to the side of the head next. One final exchange at the end of the round saw both fighters connect, but through the entire round, it was Zabit getting the job done.

Bochniak came charging out of the gate again in round two. He tried goading Zabit into standing in front of him, but Magomedsharipov wasn’t having it. Instead, he wound up taking the back of Kyle Bochniak. Throwing him down, he once again proved to be a complete fighter. Escaping that, Bochniak then dropped his hands and stuck his chin out, and wound up grazed a couple of times, and luckily (for him) not finished. Zabit would later throw him to the canvas single-handedly, and while Bochniak tried for an arm-bar, it was nowhere close to completion.

Bochniak started round three screaming and goading, sticking his tongue out and doing anything he could to shift the momentum. Then took a kick to the abdomen, and found himself taken down next. He’d try to egg the ref on into a standup, to no avail, and when he did manage to make it back to his feet, he was put right on his back.

Back up, Bochniak had an opening when he managed to shake Zabit off his back, but Magomedsharipov was immediately back to his feet. He then had his leg caught, only to launch a kick off his one free leg to break free. In the final minute, Bochniak managed to land his first damaging strike of the round, and as the crowd roared, they stood and traded to the bell! The winner was clear cut, but it remained an incredible fight.

Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Kyle Bochniak by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

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A previously rumored bout between rising UFC star Zabit Magomedsharipov has been confirmed for UFC 223. On Tuesday, the UFC announced that Magomedsharipov would face Kyle Bochniak at the event, which takes place in Brooklyn this April. The Dagestani fighter previously spoke of the bout on social media, noting that a number of fellow fighters had turned down the opportunity to face him.

Magomedsharipov (14-1) has turned heads in the UFC featherweight division, where he has earned two Performance of the Night bonuses in two appearances. Undefeated since 2013, he has proven incredibly dangerous on the feet, but is adept on the ground as well, finishing both his UFC fights via submission.

In Kyle Bochniak (8-2), Zabit Magomedsharipov gets a logical next step. Bochniak is 2-2 in the UFC, and is coming off a win over Brandon Davis at UFC 220. Each and every one of Bochniak’s UFC appearances have ended in decision, and after a somewhat plodding fight against Davis, the UFC may be looking at how Zabit handles a fighter who will attempt to nullify his flashy style.

With a win, ‘ZaBeast’ may be deemed ready for a real step up in competition. Which could pave the way for several exciting match-ups in the UFC’s stacked 145lb division.

UFC 223 takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on April 7.

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Featuring a couple of fresh-faces at featherweight, the bout between Brandon Davis and Kyle Bochniak gave one fighter the opportunity to take a step toward challenging the top-10 in one of the the UFC’s deepest divisions. While Bochniak had some UFC experience under his belt, and Davis was making his debut, it was the newcomer who was the betting favorite heading into Boston.

Davis came into the bout with an 8-3 record. The 27-year-old Mississippi-native came into the bout after earning his UFC contract last summer. Davis defeated Northwest prospect Austin Arnett via decision, impressing promotion President Dana White enough to earn his shot at the big-time.

Bochniak, meanwhile, had competed three times in the Octagon in his nine career professional fights. The 30-year-old Boston-native was 7-2 in those nine fights, and 1-2 since joining the UFC in 2016. Bochniak fought once in 2017, losing a decision to highly-touted prospect Jeremy Kennedy.

Bochniak stayed on the outside early, giving Davis control of the center of the Octagon throughout the opening minutes. The first exchange came 90 seconds into the bout, with neither fighter able to impose their will early on. Shortly thereafter, Bochniak landed the first real significant strikes of the night, landing his left hook flush a couple of times midway through the first round. Bochniak then shot for a takedown, forcing Davis against the cage and taking top control, but only for a second. He continued to press Davis against the cage, but was unable to turn it into any offense of note as the first round came to a close.

Bochniak came out a bit more aggressive in the second round, landing a combo in the opening seconds. The Boston native continued to work outside, staying out of Davis’ range. Davis was able to land a couple of quality leg kicks in the first minute, but Bochniak was able to land some punches as well.

Davis continued to take punches, and Bochniak leg kicks, but neither duo was able to take a distinct advantage in round two. Davis then stuffed a takedown from Bochniak, and went back to patrolling the center of the Octagon. Bochniak’s movement wasn’t slowed, however, as he continued to land counter punches. A spinning back fist attempt form Davis allowed Bochniak to take his back and push him against the cage late in the second round, but Bochniak was unable to turn it into anything of note, and Davis once again had the fight standing.

The final stanza was more of the same. Davis landing leg kicks, while Bochniak landed counter punches. Bochniak continued to shoot for takedowns and control the fight, while Davis was able to stay out of dangerous positions defensively.

Kyle Bochniak improved his UFC record to 2-2, earning a decisive victory over promotional newcomer Brandon Davis. The unanimous decision may not have been the most exciting fight of the night, but showed Bochniak belongs in the UFC. For Davis, his debut was dampened. But, this won’t be the last we see of the Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series vet.

Kyle Bochniak def. Brandon Davis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

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When Brandon Davis defeated the highly touted Austin Arnett on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series 4, he punched his ticket to the UFC. Yet Davis had no idea that he’d be debuting on the same card as a fight that has the potential to be one of the most monumental heavyweight title bouts of all time. At UFC 220, with Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou topping the show, Davis will make the transition to the UFC, and jump right into prime time as part of the Fox Sports 1 preliminary card.

Davis spoke to Cageside Press leading up to his featherweight bout against Kyle Bochniak about the fight, getting his start in the sport, and more.

Starting out, MMA was about staying competitive for the Alan Belcher MMA product. Davis, who played football in college, needed to stay busy. “I like to compete, so I had to find something to do after college” he told us. “Whenever I was at Mississippi State, there was this booth that said ‘MMA, Jiu-jitsu’ and I was like, ‘I guess I’ll check this out.'”

Davis, a fan of the sport, never thought he’d be the one stepping in the cage some day. Even though he’d done a little boxing, Davis recalled that “I used to watch MMA when I was younger, and I was like ‘I would never do that.’ Turns out I was wrong!” What changed his mind was his training. “It looked like it was pretty brutal. I wasn’t against it, I loved watching it, but I didn’t know if I could make myself do it at the time. But once I started training, I loved it. Why would I not do this?”

Watching Jose Aldo From the WEC Days

Coming up, his favorite fighter was the King of the weight class he’d later join himself: featherweight great Jose Aldo. “I’d been watching him since the WEC days. That’s when I was really liking him a lot.”

That time when Davis wasn’t sure about fighting himself? That was back “when he was in there merking everybody, knocking Cub Swanson out in five seconds, doing all that, tooling Urijah Faber, and Mike Brown, and all these really really good people, making them look like they weren’t anything.” Aldo would later serve as an inspiration. “For the longest time I styled my game around his, I had really hard leg kicks.” Eventually, of course, Davis developed his own style. “People knew I was going to my leg kicks; now I change it up a lot more. I take a lot from a lot of different people.”

Aside from Aldo? “Conor McGregor is hard not to like just because he’s really good, Dominick Cruz, I love his footwork.”

Jumping to the UFC

Looking back to Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, which was Davis’ springboard into the promotion, did everything go down as he expected? “I said exactly what I was going to do, and it went exactly how I said it would. Of course, I would have liked to get a finish, but that guy [Arnett] was tough.”

Tough, but Davis came out on the right side of the win, and the performance saw a UFC contract awarded. With his foot in the door, the question becomes one of pressure, but Davis said he “never really thinks about a fight as pressure.”

“I never had any pressure on the Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series. When I’m in there, I’m just fighting. I don’t think about anybody that’s outside, I don’t worry about the crowd. I don’t even think about that while I’m in there” he explained. “It’s never crossed my mind. I guess that all comes from football, cause in football I never even realized the crowd was out there either, so I guess my mind just kind of shuts things off. And I had fun in there, I guess that’s another thing, a lot of people are so nervous.”

The nerves don’t get to Davis. Instead, “if you watch me fight, you’ll see me smiling ninety percent of the time. If you hit me with a good shot, I’m going to smile; if I hit you with a good shot, I’m really going to smile.”

“I’m literally having a good time in there, so to me there’s no pressure.”

As a result, Davis isn’t the sort of fighter who needs heat with an opponent to perform better. “I definitely don’t have to have beef, I hate when people act like they have to get mad to fight somebody. I don’t have to get mad to fight you, I punch people every day at the gym that I like” he noted. “So I’ll punch somebody that I don’t know, but don’t dislike. We’re in there for the same reason.” Plus, as he pointed out, “if you get mad, you can’t use your game as much.”

Davis does do a little trash talking, mind you — but doesn’t let it go too far. “As far as talking trash, I’m in there talking to them, like ‘yeah I got you with that one!’ and all this kind of stuff. It’s not like I’m talking shit like ‘yo man you’re a bitch’ — I’m talking trash, but it’s not to the point that it’s really disrespectful.”

UFC 220 vs. Kyle Bochniak

Next up on the receiving end of that banter is Kyle Bochniak, 1-2 in the UFC to date. Davis summed up his opponent, saying that “he’s good, of course being in the UFC, you’re going to be good. There’s not really any sorry people in the UFC, there’s just people that are better.”

Davis even broke down Kyle Bochniak’s past few performances:

“His first fight, he took on one week’s notice, kind of gassed out a little early, against Charles Rosa, so I don’t really take that into consideration. His last two, he had Enrique Barzola and that fight was close. The first time I watched it, I thought that Kyle won, then every time I watch the fifth, I think Enrique won, and it was a split decision so it was close. And of course he got tooled by Kennedy on the ground. He’s got some good stuff; for one, if you take him down, other than Kennedy, nobody’s ever been able to hold him there. You might take him down, but he’s popping back up.”

That said, “his striking’s pretty basic. He doesn’t do very much, so there’s not that much I have to look out for as far as that.” Davis then added “but he has a hard right hand, I’ll try not to let him hit me with that of course, but so did Austin Arnett, and a lot of people that I fight. I can take a pretty good shot, so he’s going to have to catch me just right. There’s a possibility of that, but I don’t foresee it happening.”

In the end, Davis sees this as a sound match-up for him. “I pressure, I throw so many different combos, and make everything look the same so you don’t ever know what’s coming. So it’s hard for you to think about what you want to throw because you’re always thinking about what I’m going to throw.” He likes to push the pace. “Every couple seconds I’m going to throw something up there” he said, adding that “my last fight, I threw 471 strikes, which I’ve heard is the most in a UFC fight, and it was only a three round fight. He’s only landed one hundred and something strikes out of forty-five minutes in the cage, three fifteen minute fights. I landed more than that in my one fifteen minute fight.”

Which could be overwhelming for his foe. “It’s going to be a lot to deal with, that’s going to get you tired whenever you’re backing up and having to think about what I’m doing. It changes up your heart rate, changes up breathing rhythm, and makes you tired a lot faster. He’s going to have a lot to deal with.”

Davis clearly has a good handle on his opponent. That said, the fighter, who helps coach Jason Knight and has broken down video for him, said he tries not to get into the “nitty gritty” of game plans. “I’ll watch a guy for two days, then I won’t watch him again. Because it’s not about what he does, it’s about what I do.”

Which he’ll be doing in Boston, part of what could be one of the biggest cards of the year. A card Davis is thrilled to be a part of. “I was so excited when I found out. Before I found out it was the 220 card, I was like ‘man, they’re never going to give me a fight, I fought in August!’ I was waiting, waiting, waiting, Jason fought two days before I fought then got a fight two months before me. I was like ‘what’s going on?'”

With Sean Shelby promising something good, it turned out to be worth the wait. “I’m the first guy off the Contender series to actually be on a PPV card, so I think that’s pretty cool.”

Looking Ahead to the Rest of 2018

And the goal after that, for 2018? “I like to fight pretty often. This last layoff was a long one for me” he said. If all goes well, Davis would like to fight three more times this year. “I don’t like to wait that long.”

“Hopefully after this one, I’m going to see if I can’t get on another big card” he told Cageside. Noting the Texas card might be too soon, he suggested Florida as a possibility. “I’ll fight in Orlando on that card next month if they’ll let me. I know Charles Rosa got hurt with his neck injury [that saw him forced off UFC 220], I’ll fight him next, or Gabriel Benítez, who beat Jason Knight his last fight.” A little bit of revenge, perhaps?

First up, however, is the match against Bochiak, slotted to serve as the UFC 220 Featured Preliminary fight. Does Davis have any final prediction?

“He’s on his last fight of his contract, and he’s 1-2 coming off a loss. So he has to win this to stay in there. So this kind of depends on how he fights.” There’s two distinct possibilities, Davis suggested: “he can either come and work really hard to get that win, or he can hold you against the cage. But I don’t think they’ll re-sign him if he does that.” Which should allow for an entertaining scrap. “I can see it going all three rounds and being a good fight that people will really enjoy, but I can also see me knocking him out with a head kick in the second round. Maybe end of the first.”

Wouldn’t that be an incredible start to his UFC career?

Brandon Davis faces Kyle Bochniak at UFC 220 Saturday, January 20 at the TD Garden in Boston, MA. The bout will air free on Fox Sports 1 as part of the televised prelims, which kick off at 8PM EST.

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