Tag: Phil Davis

Bellator 297 post-event facts: Vadim Nemkov achieves rare feat in dominant title defense

Check out all the facts from Bellator 297, where Vadim Nemkov took another step toward arguably the greatest resume in Bellator history.

Bellator’s lone event of the month went down Friday with Bellator 297 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, and it was arguably the promotion’s biggest show of the year thus far.

Two championship bouts topped the card, and both men who entered the cage with belts, lefts with them, too. [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) handily defeated [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) by unanimous decision in the headliner to retain the light heavyweight strap, while [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (23-5 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) kept hold of bantamweight gold with a unanimous decision over [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (35-6 MMA, 22-6 BMMA).

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 297.

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Bellator 297 results: Corey Anderson edges Phil Davis by split decision, calls for title shot

Corey Anderson wants another shot at the light heavyweight title after beating Phil Davis by split decision at Bellator 297.

[autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] strengthened his case for another potential title shot when he defeated [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] on Friday at Bellator 297.

Anderson (17-6 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) defeated fellow former UFC veteran and ex-Bellator light heavyweight champion Davis (24-7 MMA, 11-4 BMMA) by split decision at the event, which took place at Wintrust Arena. The scorecard from the judges were 28-29, 29-28 and 29-28. Chris Lee was the deciding judge in Anderson’s favor.

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Neither fighter hesitated test the grappling prowess of the other in the first round. Anderson and Davis tangled early and often, with both men shooting, defending, reversing and more. They traded punches in between grappling attempts, but it was very even with neither side achieving a big advantage.

The clinch grappling and scrambles continued into the second, but the length of the striking exchanges continued. Anderson landed more of the cleaner, more consistent strikes through the frame, but Davis, who appeared more fatigued, held his own.

The pace of the fight slowed through the final round. Anderson worked behind his jab and straight punches, while Davis tried to counter. Neither man could connect with a fight-altering shot over the final five minutes, and ultimately the three judges cageside rewarded Anderson for his work.

After falling short against champion Vadim Nemkov in a two-fight series to conclude the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix, Anderson rebounded and wants another crack at 205-pound gold.

“You already know what I want,” Anderson said in his post-fight interview with John McCarthy. “There’s only one thing I’m here for. … We want that strap.”

The up-to-the-minute Bellator 297 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.

Bellator 297 video: Why Yoel Romero ‘faced off’ with Vadim Nemkov virtually from his hotel bed

Bellator’s headlining champs and challengers had their first faceoffs of fight week Wednesday 1,350 feet in the air – absent one key player.

CHICAGO – Bellator’s headlining champs and challengers had their first faceoffs of fight week Wednesday 1,350 feet in the air … absent one key player, though.

Light heavyweight champion [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) puts his title on the line against [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) in the Bellator 297 main event.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (35-5 MMA, 23-5 BMMA) chases history when he tries to add the bantamweight title to his current featherweight belt. He challenges 135-pound champ [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) in the co-feature, and a win will make him the first fighter in Bellator history to have titles in three different divisions.

Wednesday, the fighters took questions from the media at a press conference at the Skydeck at Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), Chicago’s tallest building. At 1,451 feet, the Willis Tower is the 23rd tallest building in the world, third tallest in the U.S. and has the tallest public viewing area of any building in the country.

But Romero elected to stay at the host hotel in downtown Chicago rather than go to the 99th floor of the building. Romero, he said, is afraid of heights. He joined the press conference through a video feed in his hotel room. That meant no faceoff for the main event, but there were three others.

Check out the highlights from the co-main event faceoff in the video above, as well as the faceoff between [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) and former light heavyweight champion [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] (24-6 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) and an appearance from Chicago’s own [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] (15-6-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), a heavyweight contender who opens the main card against Gokhan Saricam (8-2 MMA, 4-2 BMMA).

Bellator 297 takes place Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.

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UFC veterans in MMA and boxing action June 16-17

Check out which veterans of the UFC are in combat sports action across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC is back home in Las Vegas for UFC Fight Night 225.

The event at the UFC Apex features a middleweight main event between former title challengers [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] and [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag].

Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

This week, there are a total of 22 veterans of the global MMA leader competing in MMA this week from June 16-17.

Check out the names and details about their bouts below.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

Bellator 297 pre-event facts: Patricio ‘Pitbull’ can be first to achieve triple champ status

Check out all the facts and figures about Bellator 297, where Patricio Freire is on the cusp of an unprecedented MMA accomplishment.

The biggest Bellator event of the year so far goes down Friday with Bellator 297, which takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

A championship doubleheader is featured on the top of a loaded card. In the main card, [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) will attempt to make his third light heavyweight title defense when he takes on [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA). The co-headliner, meanwhile, sees the return of bantamweight titleholder [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), who attempts to defend against current featherweight and former lightweight champ [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (35-5 MMA, 22-5 BMMA) in a potentially historic affair.

For more on the numbers behind the two title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 297.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 27-April 2)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from March 27-April 2.

Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis added to Bellator 297 in Chicago

Bellator 297 continues to stack with notables as Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis is the newest addition to the June 16 lineup in Chicago.

[autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] and [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] have been atop major promotions’ light heavyweight divisions for nearly a decade but have never crossed paths.

That will change June 16 as a 205-pound bout between Anderson (16-6 MMA, 10-5 BMMA) and Davis (24-6 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) has been added to Bellator 297 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Promotion officials announced the booking after an initial report by ESPN on Thursday.

Anderson, 33, looks to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss to champion Vadim Nemkov in November. The bout, which took place at Bellator 288, doubled as the promotion’s light heavyweight grand prix final. It was also a rematch. Anderson and Nemkov fought in April 2022 at Bellator 277. The fight was declared a no contest after an inadvertent headbutt caused a cut on Nemkov.

Prior to the Nemkov bouts, Anderson was undefeated in Bellator with TKO wins over Ryan Bader, Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov, and Melvin Manhoef.

Davis, 38, seeks his third straight victories as he enters the fight on a two-fight winning streak that includes victories over Yoel Romero and Julius Anglickas. Davis is a former Bellator light heavyweight champion who, like Anderson, has only lost in the promotion to Nemkov.

With the addition, the Bellator 297 lineup includes:

  • Champion Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero – for light heavyweight title
  • Champion Sergio Pettis vs. Patricio Freire – for bantamweight title
  • Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.

Bo Nickal issues warning to every MMA middleweight after pro debut

Bo Nickal issues a warning to every middleweight in the MMA world after his pro debut.

Penn State wrestling icon [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] had as impressive a debut in the world of MMA as he could have asked for. Nickal wasted no time in knocking out his first opponent in an MMA ring, thus living up to the hype the former Division 1 national champion had coming into the world of mixed martial arts. And after his first match, Nickal put the rest of the MMA world on notice with a stern warning.

“Every single middleweight on the planet, I don’t care what organization you’re in, UFC, Bellator, PFL – doesn’t matter, I’m coming for all y’all,” Nickal said during his post-fight interview according to MMA Junkie.

Nickal is one of the best college wrestlers to ever step into the world of MMA, and his debut match showed he was more than ready for the next step in his career with polished striking expected of some of the top fighters in MMA. Nickal’s wrestling intuition wasn’t necessarily needed in his first match, but his skills on the mat have many eager to see what he will bring to the MMA ring as he continues on with his career.

Nickal knows what his role is in the transition from the world of college wrestling to MMA, and it’s not one he is backing away from. In Nickal’s mind, college wrestlers are going to be the future of MMA.

“I’m trying to hold it down for all my wrestlers out there,” Nickal said after his pro debut. “I love y’all, and wrestling’s taking over for sure.”

Nickal isn’t alone in his transition from wrestling for Penn State to MMA, of course. [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag], a two-time Big Ten champion and a Division 1 silver medalist in 2006 and gold medalist in 2008, has an established fighter since 2009. And the eyes are already on the future of [autotag]Roman Bravo-Young[/autotag], who is coming back to Penn State for another year of wrestling but already has the MMA world thinking about his future in the sport.

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PHOTOS: Looking back at Bo Nickal’s Penn State wrestling career

A look back at the storied collegiate wrestling career of Bo Nickal

Penn State has been a powerhouse across the entire NCAA when it comes to wrestling but now they are crossing over to other combat sports, next is [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag].

Bo Nickal left Penn State after back-to-back National Championships in 2018 and 2019 and now at age 26, he will be starting a career in MMA. Wrestling has proven to be one of the better base skills for anyone pursuing mixed martial arts, Penn State wrestling specifically has shown that their wrestlers can have successful MMA careers.

Former wrestlers like [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] and Ed Ruth have been successful in their pursuits of combat sports glory, Davis himself even became a world champion. Most recently Cody Law made the transition and is signed to major promotion Bellator and is 5-0 in the promotion.

With Nickal’s pro debut coming the beginning of June it would be good to have a reminder of what he did at State College that makes him one of the best to ever touch a wrestling mat.

Bellator 276 results: Phil Davis spoils Julius Anglickas homecoming with patient decision

The crowd was firmly behind Julius Anglickas, but they were unable to help him beat Phil Davis.

[autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] remains consistent as a tough out for any fighter on the Bellator roster who does not hold title gold.

At Bellator 276, that was no different as Davis (24-6 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) dominated home-crowd favorite Julius Anglickas (10-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) en route to a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). The bout served as the co-main event for the card, which took place Saturday at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.

Davis utilized a wrestling-heavy attack, the bread-and-butter arsenal by use of which he rose to fame. Anglickas tried his best to keep the fight standing, but he failed time and time again. Perhaps it was the threat of a heavy Davis takedown, but Anglickas was largely unable to get find his rhythm before each time the fight hit the canvas.

In Round 3, Davis sought a submission by straight armbar, but Anglickas defended. He finished off the round with a massive takedown. Moments later, he was named the winner based on the scorecards.

With the appearance, Davis has now competed 14 times under the Bellator banner – one more than his 13 UFC appearances. He turns a standalone decision victory over Yoel Romero into a winning streak. Over the past nine fights, Davis has only lost to one man: Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov.

As for Anglickas, the loss puts him on the first two fight skid of his career. In October, he served as a grand prix alternate and lost to Nemkov via submission in a title challenge. The two losses come after three straight wins that kicked off his Bellator tenure.

The up-to-the-minute Bellator 276 results include:

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