Prediction: Phil Davis = Gatekeeper?

IamStryker

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So its a bit too early to fully call him that but so far I feel like that is where he is going to land. I don't think he will be able to beat the very top guys but just like Munoz he will take out the guys who don't belong.

Agree or Disagree?
 
Unfortunately I agree. He appears to crumble when faced with adversity and his striking is not improving much...
 
Not just yet. Besides Rashad and Rumble, phil davis has no loses afaik.

If his striking was as good as his ground game, he would be at the top of divison.
 
That's not a prediction since he's already been a gatekeeper ever since the rashad fight.
 
He surprised me against Machida and against Rumble,,, in different ways.

A mystery wrapped in an enigma
 
but but but he beat MAchida...
 
So how are we defining Gatekeeper here? "Guy you can to beat to prove you are contender worthy but said guy will never be a contender himself"? If so, probably.
 
He really hasn't beaten anybody since he lost to Rashad

He beat some bum named Wagner Prado who's 0-2-1 in the UFC
He beat Vinny Magalhaes who's 1-3 in the UFC
And he "beat" Lyoto Machida in a fight where he did nothing besides take Lyoto down the last 30 seconds to trick the judges into thinking he won the round.
 
How is it too early?

The guy is definitely a gatekeeper.

Thought this was common knowledge...

I guess I didn't know that most people really called him that already. He only has two losses and technically beat Machida which is why I thought It might be a little too early.
 
As long as he stays with his current camp, he very well may be a gatekeeper. I was really disappointed in the complete lack of jabs in his fight vs. Rumble. He had a ridiculous reach advantage, but threw probably less than 5 jabs the entire fight. Also, he makes rudimentary mistakes with his striking. I really doubt that it's his fault, as he's an elite athlete. His corner was worthless between rounds, too.

Would like to see him with a top-level camp before relegating him to keep the gate.
 
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