Travis Davis hopes winning Ohio Combat League title gets him a UFC shot

Though he wasn’t as active in MMA in 2019 as he might have wanted to be, that doesn’t mean the year wasn’t eventful for middleweight Travis Davis.

In addition to MMA, Davis was able to get into the boxing ring and the grappling mat, and have what was overall one of his busier years to date.

“I only fought MMA twice last year because of scheduling stuff,” Davis told MMAWeekly.com. “I did a boxing a fight and I compete at no-gi worlds and IBJJF gi worlds this year, so I took a little bit of time off to focus on that stuff.

“I still fought (MMA) twice, and won twice, and avenged my first loss in MMA (to Sid Wheeler) in boxing. Overall I think 2019 was good.”

For Davis switching back and forth between styles hasn’t been an issue, because on top of his maturation as a fighter, being able to go from one discipline to the other has paid off for his MMA game.

“The whole one-dimensional fighter is just not a thing anymore,” said Davis. “Most people are well-diversified today. It helps me stay grounded and motivated to keep learning.

“When I first started out as a pro I just feel like I rushed everything real fast to get a fast finish, and I think that hurt me in my two (most recent) losses. It was good for me to get some time in the cage and figure out how to slow my pace up.”

On January 4 in Columbus, Ohio, Davis will look to extend his winning streak into 2020 when he faces John Poppie (9-5) in the 185-pound championship main event of Ohio Combat League 5.

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“He’s kind of similar to (Robert) Gidron; John’s wrestling pedigree is much higher than Robert’s, but they throw big heavy shots, looking for that takedown against the cage, take you down and ground ‘n’ pound or choke you out,” Davis said.

“I think he’s somewhat one-dimensional in the aspect of wanting to get the fight to the ground, so I’m going to use my defensive wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu to get him in a bad spot.”

For Davis, he’s hoping a win over an LFA veteran like Poppie will help get him to the next level directly or at least open the door for an opportunity to make that move before 2020 is out.

“I’m hoping this fight here gets me my UFC shot,” said Davis. “I’m teetering on the verge of getting there, so I’m hoping this win will help with that and the UFC will see me as a real competitor.

“From what I can tell, it seems like I’m right there, so I’ll get this victory on January 4, and prepare for the UFC.”