For the past two nights, university alumnus Zach Davis has tuned in to The Ultimate Fighter on television, just as he has done for the last six years.

But this year is different — Davis is one of the 14 contestants battling it out on his favorite Spike TV show to win a coveted six-figure contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Only a year ago, a doctor told Davis, a 2006 university alumnus trained in mixed martial arts, that because of an eye injury, he would never fight again.

Davis, 26, says he always plays his hardest with whatever hand he’s dealt — that’s his motto, which could explain why the 185-pound, 6’1″ Hyattsville native spent five weeks filming in a Las Vegas mansion, proving that with dedication and an ironclad self-discipline, anything is attainable.

“I just really wanted to do this … I didn’t even make [high school State Championships] at wrestling and, before I knew it, the UFC is having me on TV,” he said. “So if you put 100 percent effort into something, it’ll eventually work itself out.”

That persistence paid off for Davis, who also tried out for seasons seven and nine. This year, the producers called him back for second rounds because they remembered his file. He Las Vegas for a more in-depth interview and skills-showcase round, he said.

But just a year ago, Davis was not thinking about getting on TV — he just wanted to get back in the ring. Right before he was set to compete in a Baltimore fight last year, a pre-match medical examination threw him a punch he could not dodge: His retina was severely torn and he was not allowed to compete. He underwent immediate laser eye surgery and begrudgingly relaxed his training routine.

“I went through a six-month funk,” he said. “I tried to figure out what I wanted to do with myself. Then I went back to the doctor and basically he said my retina was stable and it was a bad idea, but I could fight if I wanted to. So I had to weigh that out. And in the end, I didn’t think I was as happy as I was when I was training.”

Davis won his comeback fight in November, and things only got better from there.

“I remember before the fight just thinking the victory was just being able to come back out and fight again,” he said. “So then the UFC called, I went to Vegas a week later, and one thing led to another and I found myself sitting in the mansion getting filmed eating sandwiches.”

To prepare for the show, Davis began an intensive training program about two months before filming began. He worked out for three to four hours daily — a regimen not much different from what he routinely did before any other major fight.

“The hard thing with [mixed martial arts] is you have to work on boxing, kickboxing, cardio, strength conditioning, wrestling,” he said. “You’re always trying to get the right balance and work as much as possible without hurting yourself.”

Davis’ carefree personality and dedication to his sport makes an impression on everyone he meets, said Mike Moses, owner of Evolve Academy in Gaithersburg — the gym where the two worked out together for eight years.

“He takes martial arts and the whole code that we instill in everybody and he runs with it,” Moses said. “Basically, he knows what the meaning of persistence is and not quitting — not only in fights but in life in general.”

Outside of his intense training, Davis lives a spontaneous life. He said he does not have concrete plans for his criminology and criminal justice degree, and he likes it that way.

Davis works odd jobs, including pest control and bartending, with flexible hours that accommodate his two-a-day training sessions.

“Just as I was graduating into the real world of desk jobs, I wanted to get the fighting out of my system,” he said. “I always wanted to try it before I buckled down on a real career. Fast-forward five years later, and I’m still doing it.”

At Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Davis wrestled on the varsity team, ran cross-country and swam in a summer league to keep in shape. But he said watching professional wrestling inspired him to try UFC’s “actual fighting.”

Davis said he knew he would not make Division I wrestling when he enrolled at this university, so he began studying boxing, kickboxing and a form of submission wrestling called Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

From there, Davis cemented his passion in the mixed martial arts and never slowed down. He played on various club teams, concentrating mostly on “the thinking man’s art” of jiu-jitsu — his favorite fighting style.

Moses said Davis has always done whatever it takes to win.

“That’s a guy that never gives up,” he said.

“In a fight, you’ve got to bring a sledgehammer to make him quit or he’ll keep coming. And that’s the same with everything he does in life — he never quits.”

Even if Davis does not emerge from The Ultimate Fighter victorious, he said he’s not too concerned.

“There is no set career path [with fighting], which is exciting but nerve-wracking at the same time,” he said. “It’s a young sport. There’s no right way of doing everything. You adjust as you go. There’s always doubts, but right now I’m just living the dream.”

gulin at umdbk dot com