Phil Davis on leaving the UFC for Bellator: 'We fight people for money'

Phil Davis likes money, and that's why he jumped ship from the UFC to Bellator MMA.

"It’s simple," Davis told MMAjunkie Radio. "We, as fighters, fight people for money. There’s no real secret there, guys. We fight people for money."

Davis decided not to re-up with the UFC prior to the final bout on his deal at UFC on FOX 14, allowing his contract to officially expire 60 days after a loss to Ryan Bader on Jan. 24.

"Sixty days from that fight, I became an unrestricted free agent," Davis said. "Then any organization could make me an offer. Obviously I'm just sitting around training and staying in the office and staying busy, and the whole time, I'm like, ‘Man, this could really go well.'"

Davis received multiple offers, and even gave the UFC a chance to match once he decided to take Bellator's lucrative deal.

"I had to offer the chance to go back to the UFC and have them match the offer, and they declined," Davis said. "There was another offer on the table, and they declined to match."