The upcoming “Strikeforce at the Dome” event on February 23rd just got a little sweeter. The latest fight to be added to the card is a welterweight bout between Chris Davis (10-2) of Tacoma, WA and Portland, Oregon’s Nathan Coy.
The more seasoned Davis boasts a strong Jiu-jitsu game that has seen him rip off five consecutive submission wins, four of which he sealed by triangle choke. At the other end of the grappling spectrum is Coy, a wrestler with an All-American pedigree. At the 2003 NCAA Championships, Coy placed 4th in the 174 lb. division wrestling for the Oregon State Beavers.
Training jiu-jitsu at Marcleo Alonso and working kickboxing at the Academy of Brian Johnson, Davis feels he’s prepared for what Coy will bring. “I’m training with people who have the exact same style as him. I have eight years of Jiu-jitsu and six years of wrestling experience. I believe this really is my fight to lose.”
One large difference between Strikeforce rules and those that most fighters are accustomed to is the illegality of elbow strikes on the ground. Despite being primarily a grappler, “The Hot Seat” Davis doesn’t believe he’ll be hindered without them. “I think that no elbows sucks. Rules are rules though, and if no elbows keeps me just as handsome leaving the cage as when I entered, that’s just fine with me. I think that no elbows will likely take away more from his game than mine.”
The fight came as a surprise and is reportedly the final fight that will be added to the evening’s schedule. “Will Davis called me up out of the blue and threw the fight in my lap,” Davis said. “He even went out of his way to get the guy putting the card together to get an extra fight in there. That’s this fight”
Recently Davis has made his presence felt in the Alaska Fighting Championships posting a record of 4-0 and submitting everyone in his path, most notably current AFC Welterweight champ Kevin Barber (9-5) last April. Despite his recent success Davis isn’t taking Coy lightly. “I have seen him wrestle, and I have rolled with people similar in skill. I would be a fool to think I can just walk on and pick up that kind of muscle memory.”
Coy’s fledgling MMA career has taken place entirely in Sportfight with his last wins coming against Rickey Storey (1-2). Coy pounded and outlasted Storey en route to a convincing unanimous decision win.
The addition of the fight to the card offers the audience the opportunity to see two accomplished grapplers who bring very different styles and little name recognition. Despite their relative anonymity and the gap in experience between the two, Davis thinks the crowd will be treated to a nice surprise. “I believe it will be a tough fight that could go either way, but, I think I’ll catch him in something.”
The February 23rd event takes place in Tacoma, Washington and is headlined by Bob Sapp’s cage debut versus K-1 vet Jan Nortje. The evening also features Maurice Smith vs. Rick Roufus and Duane Ludwig vs. Steve Berger.