Gervonta Davis Claims He Would Fight In The UFC For The Right Payday
Undefeated professional boxing champion, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis has expressed an interest in competing in professional mixed martial arts in the future, and has flirted with a potential outing under the UFC’s banner — should the promotion offer him a significant payday.
Davis, 25-0 as a professional boxing boasting a stunning 24 knockout victories across his professional career, returns to the ring this weekend against Mexico’s, Isaac Cruz in a defense of his WBA lightweight championship.
The 27-year-old last featured in June of this year against Mario Barrios scoring a knockout to clinch the WBA super lightweight title in the penultimate round of their 12 round headliner.
Davis, a native of Baltimore, Maryland was briefly, previously linked with a potential professional boxing match against former two-weight UFC lightweight and featherweight champion, Conor McGregor — having competed on the undercard of McGregor’s professional boxing debut against his mentor, former multiple-time, weight world champion, Floyd Mayweather back in 2017.
Touching on a potential boxing match with McGregor, Davis claimed he would comfortably dispatch the Dubliner should they ever share the squared circle in the future.
Gervonta Davis doubts a wrestler would manage to score a takedown against him
However, when asked if he would ever fight under the mixed martial arts ruleset, and more specifically, the UFC, Davis expressed an interest.
“I mean, if they pay me — I know they probably wouldn’t pay me like a boxer’s (purse) — like a boxing match, but if they paid me enough to where I’m comfortable with it, I’d fight and MMA fight,” Gervonta Davis said on the Full Send Podcast.
The world champion then questioned if it was possible for him to be kicked in the face if he competed in mixed martial arts, and when told he could, he still flirted with a potential cross-over to the sport.
“But, like you can’t kick me in the face — can you kick me in the face in like, the UFC?” Gervonta Davis asked. “No, I’d still do it, ’cause, you gotta think about it, I slip punches — so if somebody can kick me from all the way down there, I deserve to get kicked.“
When asked about a stylistic preference, Davis maintained that a wrestler from his own weight class would find it difficult to take him down.
“I gotta fight somebody like in my weight class,” Gervonta Davis said. “I don’t think somebody could get me, like somebody at my weight, can get me down and pin me, I don’t see that. ‘Cause, like — I’m from the hood, we used to wrestle. That’s what we do. First thing we do, we swing, and then from the swing, we picking you up and slamming you. Like, let’s just say, I’m fighting right now, on the street, I’m not gonna just straight box you, I’m gonna swing and then pick you up — you going in the air.“
