The former pride of Penn State’s wrestling program, Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis has done it again at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, adding a blemish to the previously undefeated Alexander Gustafsson with a textbook ancanda choke at the end of the first frame. As a huge favorite coming into the bout, the biggest question regarding the Pennsylvania star wrestler turned mixed martial artist was how his striking game has come along. The answer Davis provided is that he still doesn’t need one. After less than five punches exchanged between the two athletes, Davis closed the distance and began a clinic on how to use an NCAA pedigree in the octagon.

Gustafsson showed some fantastic takedown defense, stuffing Davis’s initial attempts to put the fight to the ground and even going for a takedown of his own from the clinch. However, Davis was always one step ahead on the ground, showing some picture perfect step-overs and switch-ups to maintain a consistant dominant position.

Davis’s submission attempts were more active than they were in his last bout against Brian Stann. Mr. Wonderful actively hunted for Gustafsson’s neck with modified guillotine attempts before finally locking in the anaconda choke with a perfect gator roll just before the bell.

While it would be helpful to see Davis strike to determine where the young prospect falls in the UFC light heavyweight division, he’s twice proven against fairly solid mid-level competition that it’s very difficult to force Mr. Wonderful out of his comfort zone. Fans can expect a challenge with some serious name recognition in Davis’s future.