Phil Davis knew the reaction was going to be mixed when he signed with Bellator last April.
Just a year ago, after all, the idea of a fighter in his prime, with career upside, willingly walking away from the UFC was considered a little crazy. Bellator was thought of as the place where stars who had retired came back for one last crack at glory, not for someone top 10 in the world in their division.
"There were definitely guys who reached out to me, who congratulated me," Davis told MMAFighting. "There were other guys who were like, ‘dumb idea.' But, you know, it's different for each guy. "
Davis, the Alliance MMA fighter and former NCAA wrestling champion, doesn't see himself as an active leader of a free agency movement. But he does believe that, as the first to make the jump, he had an opportunity to speak up and say what so many fighters had on their mind.
"Honestly, I don't feel like I'm a trendsetter," said Davis, who meets "King Mo" Lawal on May 14 in San Jose. "I'm just one of those guys that, I just stick up for what I believe in and sometimes that happens to be this particular situation where i changed employers and maybe that's playing out for someone who doesn't have a voice."
LINK: One year on in Bellator, Phil Davis glad to speak for 'someone who doesn't have a voice'
