Tag: Bellator 266

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Sept. 21: Anthony Smith, Phil Davis hold off contenders

While the light heavyweight division appeared primed for a shake-up on a busy weekend, a couple of perennial contenders held serve.

While the light heavyweight division appeared primed for a shake-up on a busy weekend, a couple of perennial contenders held serve.

At UFC Fight Night 192, it was [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] making quick work of upstart contender Ryan Spann, while at Bellator 266, former champ [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] spoiled the promotional debut of Yoel Romero.

With Smith (36-16 MMA, 11-6 UFC) sitting just behind Aleksandar Rakic, the man who most recently defeated “Lionheart,” there’s really no room for the veteran to move up past his current No. 11 spot in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings. Meanwhile, Davis (23-6 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) started the week at No. 12, and while his decision was clear, it wasn’t the type of result to see him make a major move up, so he also stays in his current position.

Similar scenarios played out in other divisions, as well, leaving the list relatively unchanged this week. That said, with a blockbuster UFC 266 event set for the weekend, the same isn’t likely to be the case one week from now.

Following this past weekend’s dual events, check out the latest updates using the dropdown menu above.

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Spinning Back Clique: Yoel Romero’s Bellator debut reaction, an MMA Sophie’s choice, and more

Check out this week’s episode of “Spinning Back Clique” covering the biggest topics in MMA.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week, we cover the aftermath of Bellator 266 and UFC Fight Night 192, the retirements of two UFC legends, an unexpected fight announcement, and finally look ahead to UFC 266 on Saturday.

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and Brian “Goze” Garcia debates and discusses these topics with host John Morgan:

  • It was a busy weekend in MMA with both the UFC and Bellator holding events, but it seemed a majority of eyes were on [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag], who ended up losing a decision to Phil Davis in his promotional debut at Bellator 266. After the result, we’re kind of left to wonder, at age 44, did Romero finally show his age? Or are there still big wins ahead for him? What does he have left in the tank?
  • We had 26 bouts to take in on Saturday between the UFC and Bellator, so that’s a lot of athletes who got their hand raised. Even though no new champions were crowned or future title fights secured, who walked away as the star of the night?
  • A couple of UFC and WEC legends called it a career this past week, with both [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] and [autotag]Carlos Condit[/autotag] electing to retire. So here’s a Sophie’s choice scenario, but the timing is perfect with the UFC Hall of Fame getting a few new members this week: If you could only place one of them in the Hall of Fame, is it Benavidez or Condit?
  • Speaking of UFC and WEC greats, how about the news from ONE Championship that Demetrious Johnson will have a mixed rules fight with muay Thai legend Rodtang Jitmuangnon? Sounds kind of fun, doesn’t it? What are we thinking here? Should organizations like the UFC be more open to wild ideas like this, or does someone need to be protecting the sanctity of MMA?
  • Finally, it’s a big week for the UFC – International Fight Week, in fact. UFC 266 features a couple of big title fights, the long-awaited return of Nick Diaz, multiple top contenders in action, and more. With all that is going on, what’s the most intriguing storyline of the week?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3194: UFC Fight Night 192 and Bellator 266 recaps, guest Marcus Almeida

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,194, the fellas discuss unpack the fight at UFC Fight Night 192 and Bellator 266, including Anthony Smith’s big win and Yoel Romero’s spoiled debut. They also weigh in on Anthony Johnson being forced out of the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix, Demetrious Johnson’s return in a mixed rules fight, the retirements of Joseph Benavidez and Carlos Condit, as well as welcome guest [autotag]Marcus Almeida[/autotag], who fights this Friday at ONE Championship: Revolution. Tune in!

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

7 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 192, Bellator 266: Yoel Romero’s debut gets fumbled

Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 192 and Bellator 266, both of which took place Saturday.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 192 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and Bellator 266 from the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.? Here are a few post-fight musings …

‘I just lived my dream, man’: Meet Ben ‘Big Tuna’ Parrish, the unlikeliest winner of Bellator 266

A 6-to-1 underdog, Ben Parrish got some things off his chest after he was the big winner of Bellator 266 with his 38-second knockout of Christian Edwards.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – As cliche as it sounds, [autotag]Ben Parrish[/autotag] was living the dream Saturday night.

To understand why, you’d have to hear the man they call “Big Tuna” explain after his stunning 38-second knockout of rising star Christian Edwards as a 6-to-1 underdog at Bellator 266. Parrish, a native Tennessean who works for an industrial supply company, made his Bellator debut after nearly 10 years in the fight game.

When he got on the microphone during his post-fight news conference at SAP Center, Parrish had a lot to get off his chest. The father of a 6-year-old daughter, he talked about people making fun of him all the time, breaking his leg in 2019, losing relationships, friendships and jobs while pursuing MMA, and feeling like this opportunity to fight on a big stage might never come after two previous bookings with Edwards fell off.

But Parrish (5-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) got his opportunity, and he certainly made the most of it, and now there’s the possibility of making MMA full time.

“If I can do this, anybody can do this,” said Parrish, who mentioned that he’s the son of a mobster. “Anybody watching at home, if people try to make out like you can never hang doing this, for 10 years I’ve been hearing the same exact conversations, the same exact talks. All you gotta do is get up, walk the walk and bite down on your mouth guard. Nobody’s gonna be mad at you for losing. …

“I just lived my dream, man. What are you guys doing at home if you’re not trying to live your dream? The only thing left for me to do is win a world title. That’d be the only thing I want to do. Anything else after this means decimals to the right side of the comma.”

There might be plenty of fish in the sea, but on this night, there was only one “Big Tuna.”

Check out Parrish’s full post-fight interview in the video above.

Phil Davis reflects on ‘weird’ Bellator 266 bout with Yoel Romero, enjoyed role as ‘bad guy’

After his Bellator 266 win, a beaming Phil Davis explained what it’s like to fight Yoel Romero from a technical standpoint.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] is back in the win column, and he’s proud of the performance that got him there.

A former light heavyweight champion, Davis (23-6 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) defeated former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) by split decision Saturday at Bellator 266.

“I’m very exhausted,” Davis told MMA Junkie at a post-fight news conference. “It’s weird. (Romero) sets an interesting tempo. He has lots of movement, lots of feints, everything power. My boxing coach would always say, ‘You’ve got to take some punches just to keep him honest.’ Nothing keeps you honest. He’s all power, all business.”

The first half of the fight was competitive, though at times the action stalled. The tempo was often arrhythmic with Romero moving oddly before he’d explode into a lone strike or combination. As the clock wound down in Round 2, Davis decided it was time to resort to his wrestling – an area of the battle that fight fans anticipated entering the bout.

“I saw he was super sweaty, and I was like, ‘Man, I might have missed my window,'” Davis said. “That was one of my takeaways from the Nemkov fight. I went to wrestling too late in the fight, and we were both way too sweaty. I saw that and I was like, ‘Alright, it’s going to have to be the perfect shot to really penetrate and get in deep on a guy like that.’ He has hips for days. He’s very athletic and turns his hips. He’ll get out of any bad shots, so I really had to make sure I got it good.”

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Despite being from California, Davis wasn’t the main event fighter who received the loudest cheers upon the walkouts. But by the end, the fans applauded his successful efforts in an unusually paced matchup.

“It’s been a while since I had one of those, not since competing down in Brazil three times or being a wrestler and wrestling at Carver Hawkeye Arena,” Davis said. “Not too often do I hear everybody cheering for the other guy. It was good to be the bad guy for a while.”

Check out Davis’ full post-fight news conference in the video above.

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Scott Coker voices faith in Yoel Romero after Bellator 266 loss, ponders 5-round main event change

Yoel Romero was frustrated his Bellator 266 main event wasn’t five rounds. Could we see a change? Scott Coker weighs in.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] is 0-1 in Bellator, but promotion president Scott Coker isn’t losing faith in one of his biggest free agent pickups.

On Saturday night, Romero (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) lost a split decision to Phil Davis in the Bellator 266 main event at SAP Center. After a competitive first two rounds, Romero was taken down and controlled for much of Round 3.

After the event, Coker praised Davis’ victory but also voiced confidence that Romero, former UFC middleweight title challenger, still has more left in the tank at age 44.

“I think that Phil is an amazing fighter, as we all know, and he just delivered another solid performance,” Coker said at a post-fight news conference. “He fought smart. Yoel is still dangerous. If he hits you, it’s over. I think Phil probably felt that power early on, so he tried to stick and move a little bit. He took him down a couple times. I loved the fight. I thought that it was a great fight. I’m telling you, Yoel will be back. This is, to me, his comeback fight. It’s been how long since he fought? We give him another fight, and he’ll be really, really ready for the next one.

“… Anybody that can do what he does. Again, give this guy another camp and another big fight, I think he’s going to come in and start throwing bombs on people. He’s a dangerous individual. You guys saw it. One punch, and it’s going to be over. He’s that guy.”

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Romero mostly has competed at 185 pounds throughout his career. In fact, it had been a decade since he last fought at light heavyweight prior to Saturday. As for what the future holds, Coker would like Romero to continue at 205 pounds but is open to a return to middleweight.

“I’m going to talk to him, because I’d love for him to maybe fight and maybe stay at 205,” Coker said. “Gegard (Mousasi) is going to be busy beginning of next year fighting Austin (Vanderford). If that division opens up, and he wants to go down and fight the winner of that fight, we’d love to do that, too. We have a lot of exciting options for Romero, and I’m excited to put them all together.”

At the conclusion of the main event, Romero indicated he was either frustrated with or surprised by his main event not being five rounds. Unlike the UFC, Bellator has three-round non-title fight headliners. Coker indicated a change could come to Bellator’s system in the near future, but it would have to be a permanent one.

“We just didn’t want to make a change,” Coker said. “I think maybe at some point we’ll see it. I just know that once we make that decision, it’s not going to go back. I heard that was something that was in his mind, too. I can’t blame him. He’s been fighting five rounds a lot in his career. This was a three-round fight, and maybe next time he’ll be in a five-round fight.”

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Bellator 266 results: Phil Davis spoils Yoel Romero’s debut, earns split decision

Phil Davis ruined the Bellator debut of Yoel Romero thanks to some crisp striking and five takedowns.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] made his long-awaited first walk to the Bellator cage Saturday, where he had his promotional debut spoiled by former light heavyweight champion [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag].

In the Bellator 266 main event at SAP Center, Davis (23-6 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) defeated Romero (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) by split decision with scores of 30-27, 28-29, 30-26, although it wasn’t that close.

The first round was largely a staring contest, though big near-lands from Romero got thousands of oohs and ahhs out of those in attendance. Reminiscent of his UFC 248 fight against Israel Adesanya, “The Soldier of God” stood largely stationary while Davis tried to move in and out with striking.

Early in Round 2, Romero found his marks a handful of hard punches – and a brutal leg kick that Davis limped off. Shortly thereafter, Davis returned a hard punch of his own, which Romero acknowledged immediately thereafter with an exaggerated facial expression. As the seconds wound down in the round, Davis shot – and secured – the first takedown of the fight.

A sizzling Romero strike just missed Davis early in the final round. Davis resorted back to his bread and butter with another takedown attempt, which he secured after a lengthy struggle of strength. Davis would control Romero until the final buzzer and would be named the victor shortly thereafter.

With the victory, Davis reenters the win column after an April title challenge defeat to champion Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 257. Over the span of his most recent five fights, Davis has gone 4-1 with his other wins coming against Lyoto Machida, Karl Albrektsson, and Liam McGeary.

Romero, 44, has now lost four in a row and five of his past six outings. His last victory came in December 2018 when he knocked out Luke Rockhold. Saturday’s fight was his first at 205 pounds since his lone Strikeforce appearance, which took place in September 2011.

The full Bellator 266 results include:

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Twitter reacts to Phil Davis spoiling Yoel Romero’s debut at Bellator 266

See the top Twitter reactions to Phil Davis’s win over Yoel Romero at Bellator 266.

[autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] gave [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] a rude welcome to Bellator with a main event win on Saturday at Bellator 266.

Davis (23-6 MMA, 10-3 BMMA), a former Bellator light heavyweight champion, showed he’s still very much relevant in the title picture when he scored a split decision win over Romero (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), who was making his anticipated promotional debut at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Davis’ victory over Romero at Bellator 266