UFC 133: Phil Davis Is Flattered to Be Booked for UFC 133

After a torn right-hand ligament forced UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones to withdraw from his title bout, Phil Davis was called upon by the UFC brass to replace the 23-year-old. 

Davis will now go up against the stiffest challenge in his young career when he takes on Rashad Evans at UFC 133. 

When he received the opportunity, Davis said he was flattered.

"I was shocked; I was surprised," Davis told MMAJunkie. "I was very thankful that they thought of me as the next guy to get that caliber of fight."

Following his most recent victory over veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC Fight Night 24, Davis improved to 5-0 in the UFC and 9-0 overall. With his most recent win behind him, Davis said he was expecting a high profile fight with one of the light heavyweight division's established competitors. However he didn't expect it would be against Rashad Evans, who at one time held the UFC light heavyweight strap. 

"His name wasn't one of the ones I was looking to fight next," Davis said. "But it looks like it's next on the list, so it looks like we have a date."

And it looks like that date will be sooner than he expected because Davis stated previously that he intended to take time off from the octagon, and wouldn't plan on returning until the end of the year.

But with his teammates Travis Browne and UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz competing this summer, it was all the motivation Davis needed to make a quick recovery.

"It's good to have my boys around," Davis said. "They know how hard to push me, and they know what I expect. When it gets close to fight time, they know I don't want any easy practices. They know I want them in the gym early and showing up every day to train – but not only for me, but for everyone to get themselves better." 

UFC 133 is scheduled for Aug. 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania