Davis beat impostor syndrome to land ‘life-changing’ bout

Alfie Davis reflects on one fight in particular when he points out one of the most difficult moments of his career.

Fighting Alexander Shabliy in 2021, the Londoner admits he was “outclassed” as the Russian cruised to a unanimous decision win.

The 33-year-old says that while his preparations for the bout were hampered by a bacterial infection in his foot, the main reason for his defeat was psychological.

“I just didn’t pull the trigger and I think I choked under the pressure that he is this big star I felt I shouldn’t have been in there with,” Davis tells BBC Sport.

When a person doubts their ability and achievements it is sometimes described as impostor syndrome – a psychological experience where someone fears being exposed as not competent at their profession.

Confidence and bravado play such important parts in many fighters’ mindsets that it is uncommon for them to voice doubts about their standing in the sport.

Davis says throughout his career he has performed to his exciting potential in the gym, but has sometimes struggled to replicate it during fights.

This year however, things have changed. His career has reached new heights.

Having won two fights in 2025, Davis faces Russia’s Gadzhi Rabadanov in the PFL lightweight tournament final in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday – with the winner securing a $500,000 (£372,000) pay day.

Davis puts his change in fortunes down to two factors. The first is a swap of gym and coaches, which he says have allowed him to “express myself a bit more”.

The second is altering the way he thinks about competing. Davis appears calm and confident as he envisions the fight with 32-year-old Rabadanov.

“I think I used to put too much pressure on myself, but when I just go in there and go with the flow, not concentrating on the result too much, I get into my flow state. Before, I was overthinking,” he adds.

Davis grew up in Enfield on the outskirts of London with his mum and brother after his dad died at the age of three.

He says he was too young to remember his father, but his death was what inspired the early stages of his fight career.

Davis started kickboxing at the age of 12 – when he competed for Great Britain at the European and World Kickboxing Championships – before transitioning to MMA at the age of 19.

“When I was young we grew up with not much money. We were working class and I was always motivated to get some money,” said Davis.

“I always sort of had an inner feeling that someone was watching over me.

Davis is married with two children and says supporting his family is the main factor that has inspired the second half of his career.

Should he beat Rabadanov, Davis will become the third Briton to win the PFL’s annual tournament after Brendan Loughnane in 2022 and Dakota Ditcheva last year.

The £372,000 Davis could pick up is half of what Loughnane and Ditcheva won after the PFL cut its prize money this year, but he maintains it would be “life-changing”.

“It was formerly a million [dollars] so I feel I’ve been done up here a bit,” he laughs.

“But it’s a lot of money, it would be massively life-changing. I’ve never experienced that sort of money.

“My younger self would read stuff and try and convince myself I’m going to win but now I’m like ‘we’ll just go in there and see what shakes’.

“It would be lovely to win but, if not, I’m proud of my work this year already and I’m just going to try and enjoy the journey.”