Alfie Davis is confident that British lightweights will claim top MMA championships in the coming weeks and Arsenal will complete a perfect year by clinching the Premiere League trophy.
Davis challenges Usman Nurmagomedov for the PFL belt on Feb. 7 after winning a 2025 lightweight season tournament, and that’s two weeks after Paddy Pimblett takes on Justin Gaethje for the interim 155-pound gold at UFC 324 in Las Vegas.
On the football side of things, Arsenal currently tops the Champions League and leads the Premiere League with a 4-point edge over Manchester City. A victory would mark Arsenal’s first Premiere League title since 2004. The club also defeated Chelsea 3-2 in the first leg of the English Football League Cup semifinal this past week.
“It’s great to see,” Davis said of Arsenal’s 2025-26 season. “There’s been seasons where we’re just so close, but it seems like, especially the points dropping off the other one, it seems like we’re going to do it this year. I don’t want to jinx myself, but we’re nearly there.”
As for Pimblett versus Gaethje on Jan. 24, Davis told MMA Fighting “I think he will” win the UFC lightweight title.
“It’s a good time to be British, buddy,” Davis said.
Asked who has the most difficult task of the three, Davis sees his own mountain as the highest one to climb.
“I think Arsenal are pretty much there,” Davis said. “Paddy has a tough job in Gaethje but I think he’s the favorite, so you could argue that it’s me. I mean, I’m the heaviest underdog out of everyone. If the odds were there I would say I’m the heaviest underdog to beat Usman out of Paddy beating Gaethje and for Arsenal to win the league.”
Davis went 3-0 in 2025 to win the PFL lightweight season, defeating Clay Collard, Brent Primus, and Gadzhi Rabadanov to set up the fight with the unbeaten Nurmagomedov. The Russian hasn’t lost in 21 bouts dating back to 2017, but Davis sees a path to victory.
“I think you have to put on him,” Davis said. “There’s no way of outpointing him, unfortunately. He’s a smart fighter, he’s very clever, he’s very good at nicking rounds. I thought that Paul Hughes won the first fight. It was very close though. The second fight he came back and was just stealing the rounds so I can’t let him steal the rounds. I need to put on him. I need to damage him. I’m going to go in there and make it a firefight.”
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