Mixed Martial Arts in DC News Blog

Zach Davis in his last public mixed martial arts bout at Shogun Fights 3 in Baltimore, Md. (November 2010)

It was around 2003 when I was at a Grappler’s Quest event in New Jersey when I used to train at Evolve Academy. One of our competitors was locked up with another grappler in the middle of a match when our guy threw up. Mike Moses, the head instructor of Evolve, went up to the other competitor and said, “You don’t really want to win like that, do you?” The other guy said with a tough look, “Nah, let’s continue.” When the match restarted, Jay hit a take down, and went on to win the match.

Next up from Evolve was Zach Davis. Davis was a young guy, just out of high school. He was still a white belt at the time, but moved deftly. He wrestled at Montgomery Blair High in Silver Spring, Md. and brought a good base to his game. He had a tall and long frame with good athleticism. The kid was gifted, and he had heart. He was taking on another wrestler in a non-advanced division and one of his first moves was to put his hand over the other guy’s eyes. The other guy didn’t like that, and tried to poke Davis in the eye. The two went on, continued the match, and it was on…

I left Evolve about a year later and focused on my work in D.C. However, during the recent interviews I’ve had with Davis, he’s maintained the same humble attitude and “yes, sir” type of respect that he always had on the mats. He walks around now with a BJJ brown belt, but with the same type of humor, same kind of demeanor. As a graduate of the University of Maryland in College Park, he always had goals.

Davis started training in martial arts after his high school wrestling days at Montgomery Blair High. He currently has a 4-1 pro MMA record.

Now, after years of training, Davis makes it to The Ultimate Fighter. If you go to Evolve, you’d see why. When he trains, he just grinds it out. No complaining and no questioning his coaches…just complete focus. He teaches classes and sets an example in the ring. He battled back from an eye injury that the doctor’s said he would never return from. In the early days when we would roll, he would always push hard. From what I can see, nothing has changed.

Watch Zach Davis of Evolve Academy and Team Lloyd Irvin on The Ultimate Fighter on March 30, 2011 on SpikeTV.
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