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    Four-time Division II champ Davis signs with Bellator

    Joey Davis, undefeated four-time NCAA Division II wrestling champ for Notre Dame College in Ohio, has signed a pro contract with the mixed martial arts organization Bellator, his hometown newspaper, the Compton Herald, reported Friday, and InterMat confirmed Saturday night.

    Joey Davis (Photo/Notre Dame College)
    "Nicknamed 'Iceman,' Davis, a four-time Division II NCAA champion at 184 pounds, plans on fighting in Bellator's 170-pound division," according to the Herald. "He will train at Antonio McKee's Body Shop gym."

    Davis told InterMat, "I'll say this I'm happy to join my family AJ McKee and Aaron Pico and Ed Ruth and try and make some more history God willing. I am truly blessed and grateful for this opportunity Bellator has given me. I have a great team and coach with Antonio McKee who's been my coach since I was 7 years old. He is awesome. We have Chase Gormley, Emanuel Newton, Bubba Jenkins, Kimbo Slice Jr., all who are talented so we will see."

    Davis completed his collegiate mat career in March by winning his fourth national title at the 2016 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, closing with a perfect 131-0 overall record. With that championship, Davis became only the third college wrestler in NCAA competition to compile four national titles along with a perfect record ... and the first in Division II. The other two flawless four-timers: Cael Sanderson, who earned four Division I titles for Iowa State, and a 159-0 mark ... and Marcus LeVesseur of Augsburg College, tallying four D3 crowns, and a 155-0 record.

    In recent months, a number of athletes with amateur wrestling backgrounds have signed with Bellator MMA, including Aaron Pico; former Central Michigan heavyweight Jared Trice; Tyrell Fortune, heavyweight champ for the now-defunct wrestling program at Grand Canyon University; and Ed Ruth, three-time NCAA titlewinner for Penn State. Other past college mat stars now competing in Bellator include Chris Honeycutt, Paul Bradley, Mo Lawal, Phil Davis, Darrion Caldwell, and Bubba Jenkins.

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