Former Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary (11-1) knows the mistake he made against Phil Davis that led to his downfall in this past November's title fight and is ready to work his way toward a rematch.
"He got this one. I'll get the next one. If I have to have a trilogy with somebody then it's going to be against him, and he's a talented fighter," McGeary told ESPN.com. "He's been doing the same stuff that he's being doing for years. Works on some people, it doesn't work on others. I know that it's not going to work on me the next time."
At Bellator 163, Davis displayed imposed his will by controlling the bout with his wrestling. The former NCAA champion at Penn State took McGeary down at will en route to a lopsided unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-43), giving "Mr. Wonderful" the Bellator crown after four bouts with the company.
It was also McGeary's first career loss.
Months after the fight, McGeary chalks it up to a bad night at work, one against "one of the best wrestlers in the world."
However, it's the preparation heading into that night that he believes cost him. McGeary was coming off the longest layoff during his time with Bellator due to a knee injury. The last time he competed was in September 2014 when he defended his strap with a first-round submission against Tito Ortiz. With the knee healed, he decided to push hard in preparation for the Davis contest.
The 34-year-old did a 14-week camp where he'd cram four training sessions into a single day. He kept pushing, and admittedly "freaked out a little bit."
"My body wasn't working the way I wanted it to. My brain was sending signals down in my hands, but my hands didn't want to do what my brain said," said McGeary. "People were telling me you're doing too much. 'No, no, no, I'm not doing too much. I used to be able to work a full 12 hour shift on the steel then go do a four hour training session. I'll be fine.'
"That was when I was 20 years old. I'm not 20 years old anymore."
After the loss, McGeary gave himself a few weeks to clear his head and get over what he needed to. He spent some of that time coming home to England, as well as in New Jersey, where he worked those long shifts and followed them up with training. After a short holiday, McGeary got back inside the gym to prepare for this next battle. His preparations have needed to adjust slightly each day this week.
The fight week for Bellator 173, at SSE Arena Belfast, Northern Ireland has been eventful with his opponent changing twice in a span of 48 hours.
McGeary was set to take on "Ultimate Fighter" alum Chris Fields, but Fields withdrew on Monday due to an injury that appeared in a prefight medical test. He told Peter Carroll of Newstalk.com there's an issue with the carotid artery in his neck that would clear up on its own, but not for Friday's match.
Next up was Vladimir Filipovic, but just two days later the Serbian was off the card due to visa issues.
Now McGeary squares off with Brett McDermott (7-4). The most prominent name in the fight history, "The Spartan" is coming off a knockout loss to Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal in Rizin in December 2015. His biggest victory came against Oli Thompson, who is a combined 0-4 in UFC and Bellator competition.
No matter which of the three the former champion would meet inside the cage Friday night, they all would be making their promotional debuts.
Regardless of who is across from him on Friday, McGeary is thrilled to be fighting closer to home. He was devastated to miss out on Bellator's London card last July due to the knee injury. This event in Northern Ireland marks the first time McGeary has competed outside of the United States since 2011.
Now, albeit against a last minute challenger, the Englishman will look to entertain friends and family that will be in the crowd.
"I'm going to put a show on for you because all the guys that are coming over from England, Scotland, Jersey, you're all going to be in for a great fight," said McGeary. "It's going to be like old days. Watch me kick the s--- out of someone, and then we all get drunk afterwards."
