Titan Fighting 18: Chance to Fight Jens Pulver Entices Brian Davidson Out of Retirement

Brian Davidson has not fought in the months following his knockout victory over Shane Hutchinson at Bellator 32 last October for good reason… retirement.

“My wife and I were expecting the birth of our child, so my goal was to go ahead and retire from fighting and focus on coaching,” he told MMAWeekly.com. “I was pretty much going to retire at that point, win or lose.”

While he had continued to train with his fellow Team K2L Grindhouse fighters in preparation for their fights, Davidson wasn’t expecting to get a call to face one of MMA’s legends at the upcoming Titan FC 18.

“My management came to me and asked what I thought about fighting Jens Pulver, and I though they were joking at first and asked if they were serious,” admitted Davidson.

“I took a night, slept on it, spoke to my wife and everything and it was just something that I couldn’t pass up.”

While he agreed to take the fight, things looked like they might not work out, as Mike Powell was announced as the official opponent for Pulver, only to be removed from the fight after suffering a TKO loss in a fight in late April.

Davidson re-entered the picture and now he faces the greatest challenge of his career in Pulver, though he feels he has a unique advantage over his more experienced opponent.

“I’m a stand-up guy and he’s got great stand-up skills too, but I’m from a traditional martial arts background and am a Taekwondo world champion and I have some crazy, elusive kicks like a lot of guys are doing these days,” said Davidson.

“It’s actually started to evolve better in MMA and I have no fear of throwing those strikes at all. That’s how I feel right now, if I have an edge, (it would be that) he would probably have a hard time finding a training partner to prepare for those kicks.”

While neither fighter is exactly a spring chicken, Davidson feels he can push the action all 15 minutes if need be and gain an advantage that way.

“I’m 35 years old, but I feel like I’m in the body of a 25-year-old,” he commented. “I’m 10 years older than half of the guys in the gym, but I’m in better shape than most of them.

“I can keep up a good pace, like a Dominick Cruz. Hopefully those things will benefit me in this fight.”

Whether or not Davidson will continue to fight after his bout with Pulver depends on the way things go on May 27.

“I’m getting some notoriety for this one, and if people will start looking at me again, and look at my record a little closer, and hopefully they’ll give me a shot against some notable fighters,” he said.

“If I go in there and Jens just mops the floor with me and I have no business being there, I have no problem hanging up the gloves and sticking with coaching.”

Having made the decision to return from retirement for one more shot at glory, a win at Titan FC 18 would not only put Davidson on a winning streak, but could prolong his career a bit further.

“Everybody come check out the show in Kansas City,” he concluded. “There’s a lot of great guys on the card, including six of my Grindhouse fighters.

“We’re opening a new gym in Kansas City, so if anybody is in the area, come check us out or find us on the web at GrindhouseKC.com or on Facebook.