Phil Davis spent five years of his career competing in the UFC, where he was routinely ranked among the best light heavyweights in the sport, and now he’s seeking fundamental changes to the way that promotion does business so he can continue to prove he’s one of the most elite fighters in the sport.
In late May, a new antitrust lawsuit was filed against the UFC with Davis’ name leading the charge but unlike a pair of very high-profile cases — one that already ended with a $375 million settlement and a second still winding its way through the courts — this new legal action isn’t seeking any monetary damages. Instead, Davis’ lawsuit is specifically seeking action against the UFC’s business practices, specifically changing contracts and the “elimination of restrictive and/or exclusionary clauses” as well as seeking a “sunset provision” that allows fighters the option to “terminate the contract with no penalty within one year after its execution.”
Davis says it all boils down to fighters being allowed to pursue the biggest opportunities available in the sport — an option unavailable to him since leaving the UFC.
“The truth of the matter is, I don’t do this for fun,” Davis told MMA Fighting. “My ability to fight against the best people in the world has been inhibited. I can’t do that outside of the UFC. That’s a real miscarriage of justice. At one point, I was the Bellator champion and shortly thereafter Glover Teixeira became the champion of the UFC. I had a very dominant victory over Glover Teixeira, however, I wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity [to fight him]. You’re the best in the world. I would never take that away from him. He earned it. I believe I have the ability to beat him again. That is simply not right.
“Everyone who is involved in high-level sports, professional sports, you’re in it to be the best. You are in it to compete against the best to prove you are the best in the world and that’s all I’m fighting for. To be the best in the world.”
While there’s a financial component attached to all prize fighters competing in combat sports, Davis promises that his focus for this particular lawsuit all comes down to trying to force the UFC to change the way it does business.
His greatest hope is eliminating restrictive contract terms like those that effectively killed any chance he had at pursuing a potential rematch against a UFC champion like Teixeira simply because Davis was working with a rival promotion.
“I’m not seeking any damage and I’m not seeking financial compensation of any kind,” Davis said. “I haven’t been promised anything. All I want is the ability to fight the best, and I want that not just for myself but for every other person who is competing.
“You have the opportunity to fight the best in the world. If you’re at that level, I want you to fight the best in the world. Why would I not want that for you? I want that for me. I want that for anybody who is in this sport, the ability to be the best and fight the best and put on the biggest fights for the fans, everyone wins. There’s one person who would lose. This isn’t a personal vendetta of any kind. This is just what needs to happen.”
Davis, who was an NCAA champion while wrestling for Penn State, says the idea that he wouldn’t have been allowed to compete against other collegiate athletes simply because they weren’t in the same conference sounds ludicrous.
If he’s successful in his lawsuit, Davis believes the results benefit every fighter competing in MMA today.
“No other sports league works in that fashion,” Davis said. “Even out of conference in college sports, we had a dual meet versus Oklahoma State. They’re in a completely different conference. We wouldn’t even see them outside of big national duals or we’ll go against Oklahoma State, but we put them on the schedule. We were No. 2 in the nation and they were No. 1 at that time. We had a dual meet, it turns out Penn State won.
“We came out on top and that’s just how sports works. We want to secure the top spot, they had it, we put them on the schedule, we came out on top. Everyone wins.”
As MMA continues to grow as a popular sport globally, Davis feels like these changes are not only necessary for the fighters, but it’s just a better situation for overall combat sports marketplace.
“MMA has grown so much and it’s taken shape and it’s definitely evolving,” Davis said. “Now the practices are outdated, they’re restrictive and frankly, everybody should have the right to fight the best in the world. Once you are ranked in the world, you have the opportunity to fight the best in the world.”
