UFC champion received shock callout from Gervonta Davis after stunning arch-rival in one-round UFC 227 beatdown

TJ Dillashaw knocked out Cory Garbrandt for a second time on this day in 2018, and that win was met with a shock callout from a fighter in a different sport.

While Conor McGregor’s feud with Khabib Nurmagomedov always comes to mind first when discussing the most bitter rivalries in UFC history, they are far from the only opponents to have hatred for one another when they shared the cage.

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That was the case twice for Dillashaw and Garbrandt, two former Alpha Male teammates who engaged in fiery clashes and trash talk after the former left the gym. Their feud was undoubtedly among the most personal the Octagon has seen, and it got settled over two showdowns.

Dillashaw came out on the winning side of both, first stopping Garbrandt in round two at UFC 217 and then doing so even quicker minutes into their rematch at UFC 227.

Gervonta Davis said he wanted a piece of TJ Dillashaw after UFC 227

Dillashaw’s second win over Garbrandt at UFC 227 took place on this day, August 4, in 2018 and cemented his status as one of the all-time greats at 135 pounds. Plenty of reactions flowed after the high-profile rematch, but one prominent name who spoke out was not on fans’ bingo cards.

The win at UFC 227 evidently made Dillashaw a target for more than just contenders in the UFC bantamweight division, as then-WBA super featherweight champion Gervonta Davis expressed his desire to fight Dillashaw in a post on social media.

“I wanna fight the dude that fought Cody yesterday,” Davis wrote.

To the surprise of fans, ‘Tank’ later clarified that he was targeting Dillashaw in the UFC star’s wheelhouse of MMA.

The bantamweight champ welcomed the bout while responding, and he also made sure to slip in a jibe at Davis over claims he was being protected by Floyd Mayweather from facing Vasiliy Lomachenko.

“Bring it! I heard they were handing out belts after Loma left your division,” Dillashaw wrote.

Gervonta Davis also once had Sean O’Malley in his sights

Dillashaw is not the only prominent MMA name with whom ‘Tank’ has had exchanges over a fight.

Davis went back and forth with Sean O’Malley both before and after ‘Suga’ reached the bantamweight throne in the UFC. The MMA star pointed to Davis as the ideal opponent in his ambition of following in Conor McGregor’s footsteps by pursuing a major crossover bout in the ring.

O’Malley claimed he would knock out Davis when he resurfaced talk of their fight in 2024 while mocking ‘Tank’ for his win over Frank Martin.

“An MMA fighter coming into boxing, like Conor, they did a way heavier weight than Floyd (Mayweather) was used to,” O’Malley said on an episode of his TimboSugaShow podcast.

“They would probably put in the clause that I can weigh in being 5’11” but I have to walk into the ring at 5’8″. I’m like, ‘I can’t do that’… We’re done with that boxing bulls—, I’d knock Gervonta out, well, anyway.”

His boxing ambitions have since taken a hit, however. After being unseated by Merab Dvalishvili in September 2024, O’Malley was submitted by Dvalishvili at UFC 316 in their rematch this past June.

“After next year, I’m out of it.” In December, Gervonta Davis had already clarified his retirement stance.

His 30-0 record until last year and world titles in three divisions seemingly made him look unstoppable. But he believes, “I’ve been living at a fast pace for so long. It’s time for me to slow down and get better in other areas, beyond boxing.” Although he repeated his stance in February to build “myself up as a person,” many things did change.

For this year, The Tank was bound to fight three fights like 2019. One was set against WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach in March. However, it ended with a controversial draw with many expecting Roach to win fair and square. Then, on July 11, the 30-year-old was arrested in Miami Beach, Florida. Although he pleaded ‘not guilty’ f0r the misdemeanor domestic violence charge, his next court date is set for August 12. According to many, the entire situation has taken a toll on the fighter to the point that some now doubt his return.

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Davis still has two fights this year, but insider Rick Glaser already claimed, “Baltimore’s finest Tank Davis is retiring, won’t fight again is what he’s telling those close to him.” However, he also added that “Tank’s retired till his money runs low.” So far, Davis’ team has been quiet on any speculation. But now, that all changed a few hours ago when his trainer, Kenny Ellis, finally addressed the swirling reports.

He took to his X and dismissed all kinds of reports, declaring: “Per usual FAKE news.” His single line tweet put a definitive end to the retirement talk. And so, his pending fights are still on and while he has not declared anything, these words are enough to put a stop to the noise.

For the time being, Gervonta Davis is not going anywhere. While he has been chasing Jake Paul and Shakur Stevenson, we don’t know who the next two contenders can be. Yahoo Sports’ Uncrowned’s Darshan Desai believes it can be a rematch with Ryan Garcia and clashes with Vasiliy Lomachenko or Shakur Stevenson. And with that, Davis would close the curtains to fulfill his dream of “I just want to be able to make money and stay out the way, that’s it. I want to be living without being seen.”

However, his current state in this sport is startling. Once termed as the best lightweight of the current generation, 2025 has painted Gervonta Davis in a new light. A former world champion even wished the retirement rumors were true.

Legend asks for Gervonta Davis’ retirement

Recently, former WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley Jr. appeared in an interview with Fight Hub TV. Discussing a potential fight between Manny Pacquiao and Gervonta Davis, Junior didn’t mince his words. He declared the Filipino icon would destroy Tank because the latter isn’t focused on boxing at all.

The Californian looked heartbroken yet frustrated with the Baltimore-native’s troubles. “No comment on the arrest, but I will tell you, Tank is done. Tank is… hung him up, the shoes off…Tank is done…Period,” Bradley said.

The 41-year-old states that the Baltimore native has already mentally checked out of boxing. Continuing in his present condition would only harm him, with no positive outcome. “Tank was checked out. Mentally, Tank is gone, mentally,” he said, predicting that we will never see him face Shakur Stevenson and the big-money fight he is chasing against Jake Paul will also never happen.

If Gervonta Davis plans to stay in boxing for a while longer, he certainly needs to make a statement. He would need to face and defeat one of the very best to reclaim his throne. But honestly, given the surrounding turmoil and his mental state, that seems like nothing but a pipe dream.

Doral, Florida’s Local 10 reports that WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis was arrested this morning after allegedly battering the mother of two of his children last month.

Police said Davis went to the victim’s home to pick up their children for Father’s Day, but a verbal altercation between him and the victim ensued, which escalated to a physical altercation.

According to the report, Davis told his ex-girlfriend to remove their children from his car as he no longer intended to take them, but when she leaned forward to retrieve their daughter from the backseat, Davis struck her in the back of the head and then slapped her in the face, causing a minor cut to the inner area of her lip.

Police said the victim then sent a text message to her mother, informing her that Davis was assaulting her and asking her to come outside.

The victim’s mother then exited the residence and saw her daughter visibly distressed and crying while arguing with Davis, the report stated.

According to the report, the victim’s mother filmed part of the altercation on her cellphone, which showed Davis throwing a small box at the victim.

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Davis (30-0-1, 28 KO) has spent nearly a decade in trouble with the law for various reasons, most notably pleading guilty to a 2022 hit-and-run that left a pregnant woman injured and subsequently violating the terms of his house arrest. This marks his third arrest for allegedly assaulting a woman.

It is long past time to cut bait on this guy. Years of facing no consequences for his actions have made him a consistent and unrepentant danger to others. Scrap the Roach rematch and enforce some accountability for once.

Gervonta Davis appears to be targeting a showdown with an unbeaten world champion.

The 30-year-old from Baltimore, Maryland is over 30-fights into what has been an impressive professional career, which began back in 2013.

Tank’ has already won world titles across several weight classes, currently reigning as the WBA world lightweight champion which he captured back in 2019 with a stoppage victory over Yuriorkis Gamboa.

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Davis also holds victories over the likes of Ryan Garcia, Leo Santa Cruz and Jose Pedraza, with 28 of his 30 professional victories coming via stoppage.

He made his most recent ring appearance against Lamont Roach Jr on March 1, fighting to a majority decision draw against the former WBA super-featherweight champion at the Barclays Center in New York City.

The pair are set to face each other in a highly anticipated rematch on August 16 in Las Vegas, but ‘Tank’ Davis looks to have his sights set on a showdown with IBF world super-lightweight champion Richardson Hitchins.

In a social media exchange with Hitchins, Davis sent a scathing message to the 27-year-old from New York as he urges his countryman to ‘be ready’ for him, hinting that a fight between the pair could be made in the near future.

“When I see you be ready.”

Hitchins successfully retained his IBF crown on June 14, stopping Australia’s George Kambosos Jr with a thunderous body shot in the eighth round of their bout at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden.

The 27-year-old is unbeaten in his 20 professional outings since his debut 8-years-ago and will be eagerly awaiting the outcome of Davis’ highly anticipated rematch against Roach, which could prove to be a ‘fight of the year’ contender.