LC Davis kind of bored, but improving his game in Las Vegas

By Brett Okamoto

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 | 11:50 p.m.

LC Davis broke some sad news recently to friends and family via his Facebook account — believe it or not, it's possible to be bored in Las Vegas.

"I didn't think it was possible to be bored in Sin City, but I haven't done much lately" said Davis, who lives in Kansas City, Mo., but has been training in Las Vegas for the past two weeks. "I did some sightseeing, but it's hard to go out because I don't want to gamble or have a bunch of smoke blown in my face.

"I've pretty much stuck to myself; gym and home, gym and home. It's rough. It gets lonely. That's just the sacrifice I've made."

Davis (15-2), who will take on Deividas Taurosevicius (12-3) at WEC 47 on March 6 in Columbus, Ohio, may not be having the time of his life, but the training experience he's gained while working at Xtreme Couture has been enough for him to make the trip to Las Vegas a permanent part of his camps.

He spent one week here for his WEC debut in August and came back for a two-week stretch before a fight in November.

After winning both those fights, Davis has committed to a three-week long visit this time around and, if everything continues to go well, he may be back for "four or five weeks" before his next fight.

"All these guys are guys I look up to and they've been really helpful," said Davis, who has worked with Gray Maynard and Martin Kampmann during his stay. "If they were jerks and didn't help me it wouldn't do me any good to spend money and come out here.

"I love working with (boxing coach) Gil Martinez who also trains Randy Couture. I figure if he's good enough for Randy, he's good enough for me."

The opportunity to train in Las Vegas came Davis's long standing friendship with Strikeforce welterweight and former UFC fighter Jay Hieron.

Davis became a fan of Hieron while in high school, after watching him become a junior college wrestling champion at Nassau Community College in New York.

The two met in the wrestling circuit and stayed close as they both began mixed martial arts careers. When Davis found out he was getting the opportunity to compete in the WEC's stacked 145-pound division, Hieron urged him to come to Las Vegas to work on his game.

"I've known Jay since college wrestling days and I kept up with him through MMA," Davis said. "He welcomed me to come out here, I took him up on it and I loved it."

Davis may have a secret motive behind prolonging his stays at Couture's — he might be picking up tips on how to open a successful MMA gym.

After spending the last three years living in Iowa and training with Pat Miletich, Davis returned to his hometown of Kansas City in December with the idea of rebuilding his fan base there and recruiting students to train.

Davis fought five of his first eight professional fights in Kansas City, and he believes he could open the premiere MMA gym in the area within the next two years.

"Most of my fights at the beginning of my career were in Kansas City and there were always huge crowds, chanting my name," Davis said. "I still think I have some of those fans, but if you're not around for awhile they forget about you.

"But I've been working to get them back so when I do open my own gym, people will be excited to come train with me."

While Davis has been making an effort to attend smaller shows and show his face in the community, the best way for him to build his clientele certainly would be to continue climbing the featherweight ladder and take on the likes of current champ Jose Aldo or top contender Urijah Faber. Those two meet in one of the biggest fights in WEC history April 24 in Sacramento, Calif.

Although Davis is by no means toward the end of his career, the 29-year-old fighter knows that the time to make his statement in the WEC is now.

"A year ago I was still telling myself that I was new and I was still learning," Davis said. "I am still learning but I feel like a veteran now. I've fought in the bigger organizations and I'm tired of saying I'm a new guy.

"I feel ready and it's my time. The next two or three years are really going to make or break me. I'm either going to become great or be mediocre. I know that these next few years are critical to my career and I'm excited for it."

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Also follow him on twitter: LVSunFighting.