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In a story at MMAJunkie.com, Davis revealed he will be dropping to the lightweight division, and will have retirement in mind every bout from here on out.
"I'm going to finish out my career at 155 and try to entertain some people along the way before my old ass retires," he said. "I like the opportunities that present themselves."
One of the issues prompting the move is the reach disadvantage he's had in pretty much every fight at 5' 10" in the welterweight division.
"I think the UFC has me at a 70 (inch reach), and I think they do that because they feel bad for me," he said. "My reach is 69 (inches). That's got to be the worst reach at 170. Every fight that I've had in the past year and a half, I think the closest (opponent) to my reach has been six inches longer than my reach"
Davis has two fights left on his current deal with the UFC, and he says he'll be looking to get two wins at lightweight under his belt before deciding his next move. At the same time, he said he's not looking to continue his career for that much longer.
"I've got to win two fights," the 37-year-old former pro boxer said. "If I make 155, and I win two fights, and I feel like the new Marcus Davis, then we sit down and sign a new contract. But I will say this: I will not be 40 years old and fighting. I just can't."
"I'm not going to blow smoke up anybody's ass and say I'm going to be this phenomenal 155-pound fighter and I'm going to be a champion. I know that I'm a 37-year-old guy who's basically got the body of a 55-year-old guy, and I've got a face that likes to open when you look at it wrong. Those are things that I'm always going to battle as a fighter."
Davis doesn't currently have a fight scheduled, but he is looking towards a number of possibilities for his lightweight debut in the UFC.
Link to Original Source Article
Penick's Analysis: I think this will be a good move for Davis. It may or may not pan out, but it's smart to at least give it a try, because his time as a competitor at 170 lb. are just over. He got beat up pretty badly in two of his last three fights, and the reach advantage against Nate Diaz was clearly a major issue for him. At lightweight he's not likely to face the same level of power he was up against 15 lbs. heavier, but his power may be slightly diminished as well with the cut so it could be a trade off there. But if he plans to go out on his shield, it's smart to try to do it where he could possibly be a bit more successful, and being one of the always exciting fighters on the UFC roster means he'll be given that opportunity.
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7317.shtml
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