Mike Davis found himself coming off second best in the stand-up action against Viacheslav Borschev tonight at UFC Fight Night 21,, but it didn’t matter in the end due to his wrestling, which allowed him to land multiple takedowns and keep his opponent on the mat for prolonged spells to secure a unanimous decision win.
Round One:
Low kick from Borschev. He lands to the inside of the leg too now. Another low kick from Borschev. Punch from Davis to the body.
Borschev continuing to land those leg kicks. Nice uppercut from Davis. A couple of punches from Borschev now. He looks for the liver shot. Now a powerful calf kick for him.
Davis drives into a single leg takedown and lands it. Borschev able to kick him off and stand, but Davis is straight back on him and brings him quickly back down.
Davis gets around to his back and wraps an arm to the neck. He’s not locked in a choke fully yet though and Borschev stands up.
Davis lands a good knee and Borschev sinks to the mat. He recovers quickly enough to stand again though soon afterwards.
Davis round to the back and bringing him back down again. He’s thinking about the choke, but doesn’t commit to it and Borschev stands.
It’s not long before Borschev is brought down yet again and this time Davis gets into full mount. He lands a heavy elbow strike to the head.
60 seconds to go in the round. Davis postures up and starts dropping down hard left and right hands. Borschev tries to escape, but he’s unable to and Davis goes right back to landing big punches.
Borschev trying to roll in desperation. Unable to and eats more punches, but then tries again and does manage to get on top in the final seconds of the round.
Round Two:
Low inside leg kick from Borschev. Low kick for Davis too. Another couple of leg kicks from Borschev. Davis drives in for a takedown, but Borschev backs away from that one.
Chopping calf kick for Borschev. He feels out with the jab and then lands the leg kick. Borschev with a body punch. Now a couple of punches upstairs.
Solid body punch again for Borschev. Back upstairs he goes. Davis threatening with a knee strike. Thunderous overhand right from Borschev.
Body punch for Borschev as he continues to boss the stand-up action, with Davis now more reluctant to go for the takedown.
Borschev continuing to chip away, but then Davis looks for a power punch. He’s looking to get his hands going and not before time.
However, as Borschev exchanges again, Davis is in close enough to duck into a takedown and lands it. Davis looking for strikes and Borschev gets up, only to get taken straight back down.
Davis into full guard again. He thinks about setting up a submission, opts for ground and pound and then tries to look for an arm triangle again. Borschev rolls to his knees and Davis commits to a rear-naked choke, but slides over the top.
Before Borschev can fully get back to his feet Davis chases and brings him down again to end the round on top.
Round Three:
Low kick for Davis. Jab for Borschev. He loads up on a big uppercut but misses. Front kick to the body for Davis. Head kick attempt from Borschev is just blocked in time.
Solid body punch from Borschev. Jab for Davis. Body kick from Borschev. left hand from Davis. Body punch for Borschev.
Heavy straight left for Borschev. Head kick attempt from Davis. Davis pawing at the eye that was just hit by that big punch. Leg kicks exchanged.
Davis lands an important takedown, giving him some respite as he deals with that damaged eyes.
Davis in Borschev’s full guard. Borschev trying to walk the cage, but unable to. he lands an elbow though and now Davis is bleeding from a facial cut.
Davis stacks up. Borschev trying to kick him off. Borschev able to stand, but Davis pulls his legs back out to put him down again.
Borschev in half-guard and trying to get a reversal without success. Borschev giving up his back for a moment and Davis tried to pounce on a choke, but couldn’t sink it in before Borschev turned again, and that’s it, we’re headed to the scorecards.
Decision:
So, Borschev clearly had the lions share of the striking action, but Davis was able to use his wrestling to take him down multiple times over the three rounds and control the action on top to earn a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 30-27 x2).
