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Marcus Davis tells us that he and Chris Lytle are conspiring to ensure their UFC 93 fight is remembered as one of the greatest bouts ever.

MMA fighters are the most honest, down-to-earth people in sports, and it is fighters like Marcus Davis that make life as a journalist covering the sport of MMA such an absolute joy.

Shortly after Davis officially confirmed to us that his fight with Chris Lytle at UFC 93 in Dublin on January 17 has been signed and sealed, he went on to add that he and Lytle have cooked up a unique agreement with each other.

The welterweights are promising to go all-out to ensure that the fight goes down in the history books as one of the GREATEST STAND-UP WARS EVER.

"Chris and I have spoken a number of times about this fight and we know the opportunity that it gives us," Davis told Eurosport-Yahoo! "That's why we were so desperate to get it organised."

So desperate, that the pair conspired to call each other out following their recent victories at UFC 89 in London to ensure that the fight was made.

Both men have a justified reputation as stand-up specialists with heavy hands and great chins (Davis is a former pro boxer, and neither fighter have ever been stopped by strikes), and both are regular winners of the Fight of the Night bonus.

Even without any prior agreement, this would promise to be an outstanding stand-up battle.

But at this point, it is important to stress that Davis and Lytle are not just aiming for Fight of the Night honours; they are hoping to join the legends of the sport.

"We're aiming for more than just Fight of the Night," Davis went on. "We think our styles and the way we fight match up really, really well and that this fight could potentially project us into a sort of legendary status.

"People remember great fights: Forrest Griffin v Stephan Bonner in the UFC; Arturo Gatti v Micky Ward, Marvin Hagler v Tommy Hearns; Hagler v Sugar Ray Leonard in boxing.

"I want to be remembered in this sport, and this fight is my chance to make sure that happens."

Davis, 35, recently broke into the top 10 of some welterweight rankings following his victory over Paul Kelly at UFC 89 and is 14-2 in his last 16 fights. It would not be outrageous to suggest that he could get himself in the title picture with victories over a couple of high-profile opponents.

But, remarkably, Davis admitted that victory will be the last thing on his mind when he lines up across the Octagon from Lytle in Dublin.

"I don't know whether anything like this has ever been done before. The thing that makes this fight different is that both of us, as athletes, really want to do it; we have got together and decided to go out and put everything on the line - for the fans, and because we both love the UFC, who we work for.

"I don't even care whether I win or lose this fight. It is about more than that. We want to put on a fight that promotes the best of MMA, and the best way for us to do that is for two guys with absolute respect for each other to go into the Octagon and let it all hang out for three rounds.

"I know, and Chris is the same, that no matter whether I win or lose, if we go out there and bang at each other and put on a fight that people remember for a long time, then Dana White isn't going to fire us from the UFC. If we went out and lay on each other for three rounds, that's why you get fired.

"We make a great living, and our job is to fight with all our heart. We get to do it every 10 or 12 weeks or so and it is the best job in the world. So we feel as though we owe the UFC and all the fans a great, great fight."

This website ran an exclusive, five-week blog with Davis in the build up to his previous fight against England's Kelly, the previously unbeaten Liverpudlian from the Wolfslair gym, where Davis told us how he had slightly changed his style to be more elusive and clinical in his stand-up.

But his gameplan, worked out in conjunction with master technician and coach Mark DellaGrotte, will change again for the war with Lytle.

"This is a different fight to the Paul Kelly fight and it will need a different approach. In the Kelly fight, I was the taller fighter and had a longer reach and I was able to hit him on the outside; to jump in and out without getting caught.

"But this isn't going to be that sort of fight. This is going to be more of a slug-fest, brawling sort of fight. And Lytle is the taller man; he would be able to catch me easily if I adopted the same approach as I did against Kelly.

"I need to create different angles. I don't want to just stand in front of him, because Chris is a great striker with heavy hands."

And Davis admits that if he and Lytle do manage to create something special at the O2 Arena he is not going to come out of the fight unscathed.

"But I understand that in this fight I am going to need to take a punch to give a punch. I need to accept the fact that I am going to get punched in the face - a lot.

"I just need to make sure that my punches are heavy enough to rock him more than his rock me, and trust my chin is strong enough to take what he has got.

"The people of Ireland, the fans who come and watch and those who watch this fight on television, they are going to see two guys putting it all on the line; two guys who have agreed to go out there and punch each other as many times and as hard as possible.

"They are in for a treat."

It is interviews like these that make being an MMA fan a true pleasure.

Alex Sharratt / Eurosport