December 2016 holds a great professional opportunity for Davi Ramos. On the 10th, in Beirut, the Brazilian will fight the U.S.’s Nick Piedmont for the inaugural lightweight title (up to 70,3 kg) of Phoenix Fighting Championship. It will be that organization’s premiere event, and could represent the beginning of one of the biggest MMA franchises in the East.
Ramos went to Lebanon last week to take part in the event’s official launch. There he met his first opponent, a former Bellator fighter like himself.
“I was very impressed with the Phoenix FC launch event, which was already a big success,” said Ramos upon returning to Rio. “They have a very nice project, the structure will be amazing, and they are very professional.”
The last time he fought MMA, the current 77kg ADCC champion subbed Mike Flach in R1 at RFA 42 last August. It was his fifth MMA win, and now he will have the first title shot of his career.
“I’m very happy about this opportunity,” said the 29-year-old. “I’d been waiting for this for some time, and I will do my best to achieve a great win and bring the belt to Brazil. I will have an experienced guy in front of me, in a first-world event, so it is a very important challenge to me. It’s the chance to show the world my MMA skills and to also show that I intend to go far in my career.”
Parallel camp with Minotouro motivates
A representative of Team Nogueira, Ramos is responsible for the BJJ training of Rogério Minotouro, who has a UFC fight scheduled for Nov. 19 in Sao Paulo opposite the U.S.’s Ryan Bader. The proximity of the matches results in Nogueira and Ramos’s training taking place in parallel.
“It will be a great please and also a challenge to train and take care of Minotouro’s BJJ at the same time I prepare to fight,” Ramos ponders. “But, like I always say, challenges drive me, and I’m ready to face this one. I have begun the training with Rogério, and I can already state that he will be very well trained for the match. Being with him daily, exchanging experiences, will be great for me. I will learn even more. That makes me very motivated.”
