Eurosport - Fri, 24 Oct 12:32:00 2008
Marcus Davis has told Eurosport-Yahoo! that the UFC have already offered him a place on the UFC 93 card in Dublin in January.
Davis, a Bangor, Maine native with family roots in Waterford, Ireland, has been bombarding the organisation with emails and phone calls pleading for a fight in Dublin ever since the event was announced.
And the popular welterweight told us that the UFC were in touch just hours after his second-round submission victory over Paul Kelly at UFC 89 to tell him that he had won a spot.
"I really wanted to be on the Ireland card, the UFC definitely knew that," Davis told us. "They know that it makes good sense to have someone with an Irish background on the card to help market it."
Although an opponent has not yet been named, Davis fancies that the UFC will match him with dangerous striker Chris Lytle, who called for the match-up in a post-fight interview after his own decision victory against Paul Taylor in Birmingham on Saturday night.
Davis added that he ideally wanted a higher-profile opponent as he looks to continue to climb the welterweight rankings on the back of 12 victories in his last 13 fights - but added that he would accept Lytle if that was the fight the UFC wanted.
"I don't mind Chris calling me out, it's part of the game. I certainly didn't take offence. He had warned me beforehand that he was going to do it, so I don't consider it disrespectful or anything.
"I like Chris and think he is a great guy but I don't know whether he deserves a fight against me. People always say that Chris is the 'gatekeeper' to our division, but I think that I am past the gate at the moment.
"I have spoken to a few people who have told me that they actually think Paul Taylor won that fight against Chris. I beat Paul in one round (in September 2007), so I'm just not sure.
"But, of course, if that is the fight that the UFC want, then I am more than happy."
Lytle is 3-4 since returning to the UFC in November 2006 after appearing in The Ultimate Fighter 4, including defeats to top-ranked welterweights Matt Hughes, Thiago Alves and Josh Koscheck.
Meanwhile, the UFC have confirmed a number of fights for UFC 92, their end-of-year event in Las Vegas, including title fights at light-heavyweight and heavyweight.
The stacked fight card will be headlined by light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin as he defends his belt against Rashad Evans, fresh off a devastating knockout win over former UFC champion Chuck Liddell.
Former heavyweight champion Frank Mir continues his pursuit to regain the belt when he meets interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira in a showdown between the two coaches of this season's edition of The Ultimate Fighter.
Also scheduled is a grudge match between Wanderlei Silva and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, rivals from their time in the now-defunct PRIDE organisation in Japan.
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