Light heavyweight champ Liam McGeary: Bellator 163 win over Phil Davis will prove I belong at top

Liam McGeary is 2-0 in title fights in the Bellator cage, but he sees his Bellator 163 showdown with Phil Davis as an opportunity to finally cement his place in the sport.

Light heavyweight champ McGeary (11-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) and challenger Davis (16-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) meet in the main event of the card, which takes place Nov. 4 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

In the leadup to the event, McGeary and Davis have engaged in a bit of the traditional pre-fight trash talk. McGeary promised to finish Davis, whom he called a “sad, sad little man.”

Despite the talking done already, McGeary told MMAjunkie Radio he’d prefer to ignore that part of the game – even if he understands why it is important.

“I don’t really enjoy the trash talking part,” McGeary said. “It’s definitely good for the fans. It gets the fans excited and motivated for the fight if there’s a little bit of bad blood between the fighters. It gives them something to look forward to. But for me, man, I’m always going to be in an exciting fight. I don’t like doing these boring fights, I have never been in a boring fight. I just know my fighting style is always going to be exciting.”

The fight is one of the best the promotion has to offer. McGeary holds the No. 10 spot in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie light heavyweight MMA rankings while Davis checks in at No. 4.

Bouts between top-10 fighters are rare in the Bellator cage and McGeary knows what a win over Davis could do for his standing in the sport, even if it won’t please everyone.

“It’s definitely going to help my career,” McGeary said. “But there’s always going to be the naysayers, you know? They’re the ones that push you to do well in the sport. I definitely think me beating Phil will make people realize I am where I am for a reason and I do belong there and I’m around to stay.”

Check out the full video above.

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