Ultimate Fighting Championship
In 2005, Marcus was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2 . Coming in with reputed boxing skills, he picked Joe Stevenson in episode four in what proved to be a mismatch as Davis was quickly taken down by the eventual winner and submitted. He was later brought back in episode ten to cover for Jason Von Flue, who suffered a cut on his forehead in practice, though Von Flue's cut was healed enough in time to fight. Marcus fought on the undercard of the finale, where he lost to Melvin Guillard.
Following the series, Davis strongly considered retirement but recuperated from a shoulder injury picked up against Joe Stevenson and went back to MMA training. Davis subsequently bounced back with 11 wins, including a triumphant return to the UFC at Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter .
In Davis' fight against Paul Taylor at UFC 75 in London, England [7] he was knocked down by a high kick to the neck, but was able to recover, gain a dominant position, and secure an armbar as Taylor desperately scrambled to regain control. Marcus won Fight of the night as well as submission of the night for that fight. For earning the submission and fight of the night awards, he was awarded $80,000 in bonuses. His next fight was a highlight-reel knockout win against fierce rival Jess Liaudin at UFC 80 in Newcastle, England.
Marcus Davis lost a very one sided unanimous decision to Mike Swick at UFC 85, ending his six fight undefeated streak in the octagon and eleven fight winning streak in MMA. He got back to winning ways with a submission victory over England's Paul Kelly at UFC 89.
Davis' fought Chris Lytle at UFC 93 on January 17, 2009. Both fighters are former boxers and had discussed a potential fight in their futures since early 2008. [8] Lytle called out Davis at UFC 89. He suggested that the fight take place in Ireland, where Davis had gained a substantial following due to his emphasis on his Irish roots. Leading up to the event, both fighters promised to stand and trade blows for the entire fight, rather than engage in grappling. Lytle managed to stun Davis several times, but Davis used superior footwork, counter-punching, and kicks to win a split decision. [9] The bout shared Fight of the Night honors with the Coleman/Rua co-main event, earning Davis a $40,000 bonus. [10]
Davis fought on June 13, 2009, against up and coming striker Dan Hardy. The fight became personal when Hardy took offense to Davis defeating British-based fighters in Britain. Hardy called Davis a "fake Irishman" as well as a "Plastic Paddy" and said his website "looked like a St. Patrick's day parade had blown up". [11] [12] Hardy posted photos of Davis on Cagewarriors.com which resulted in many being edited in "humorous" fashions by forum users. Some of these edits included homosexual imagery which touched a nerve with Davis and increased the ill-feeling between the two. Hardy won the fight via a narrow and controversial split decision. After the fight, Davis expressed his anger at the decision, stating, "I won the fight. I won 12 minutes of the fight and they gave it to him? You bet I want a rematch, right away."
Davis suffered his first knock out loss by Ben Saunders due to knee on November 21, 2009, at UFC 106. [13] This knockout loss resulting in Davis receiving a medical suspension of up to six months because of a broken nose. [14]
Davis fought Jonathan Goulet at UFC 113. [15] He won via TKO due to punches in the second round.
Davis lost to Nate Diaz on August 28, 2010, at UFC 118 via technical submission (guillotine choke) in the third round. [16]
In an interview with MMA Junkie.com Davis confirmed he would drop to the Lightweight division for his next UFC appearance and said he made the decision after the realization that his frame is better suited for 155 pounds. Davis also confirmed that he was contemplating retirement stating "I'm going to finish out my career at 155 and try to entertain some people along the way before my old ass retires," Davis also stated "That's where I'm normally and naturally going to be, so that's where I'm going to fight right now," he said of the 155-pound lightweight division. "It does make more sense that I should be able to compete better at that weight for the fact that the weight difference isn't going to be so dramatic." [17]
Davis fought Jeremy Stephens on January 1, 2011, at UFC 125. After a back and forth fight which saw Davis getting an edge on the judges' scorecards, he was knocked out by a counter right hook at 2:33 of the third round.
On January 6, 2011 it was announced that Davis had been released by the UFC after losing four out of his last five bouts. [18]
Davis was scheduled to face Josh Hersey on September 23 at Global Fight League 13: Heavy Hitters in Portland, Maine, [20] but Hersey pulled out of the bout due to a knee injury and was replaced by Travis Coyle. [21] Davis defeated Coyle via submission in the first round. [22] [23] Davis fought Ultimate Fighter 13 alumnus Chuck O'Neil in a Welterweight bout at W-1 Reloaded in Miami, Florida, on October 15. The bout was to be the co-main event but was later promoted to the main event after Jeff Monson pulled out of his fight with Gabriel Gonzaga. [24] [25] Davis lost by split decision.
Davis was scheduled to fight Matt Lee at Century Fighting Championship: Davis vs. Lee on March 31, 2012 in Salem, New Hampshire. [26] However the event was postponed. [27]
On May 6, 2012, Davis turned his hand to kickboxing to challenge Mark Casserly for the ISKA World Light Cruiserweight (-84.6 kg/186.5 lb) Oriental Championship in Dublin, Ireland, losing by head-kick knockout in round one. [28]
Davis replaced Karo Parisyan and faced David Bielkheden at Superior Challenge 8 on October 6, 2012, in Malmo, Sweden. [29] He won by unanimous decision.
Davis fought against Darrius Heyliger on May 18, 2013 at NEF 7. [30] Davis defeated Heyliger via unanimous decision.
Following his loss to Alexander Sarnavskiy, Davis faced Ryan Sanders at NEF: Fight Night 12 on February 8, 2014. [31] In a shocking upset, Davis lost the fight via doctor stoppage TKO. [32]
