Tag: Phil Davis

MMA Junkie Radio #3238: Guest Phil Davis, plus UFC and Bellator recaps, more

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


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

On Episode 3,238, the fellas welcomed guest [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag], a former light heavyweight champion who fights Julius Anglickas in the Bellator 276 co-main event March 12. They also looked back at Bellator 275 and UFC Fight Night 202. 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.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 7-13)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken 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 Feb. 7-13.

Bellator 266 salaries: Yoel Romero leads disclosed payouts despite promotional debut loss

Yoel Romero lost his Bellator debut – but was still compensated the highest amount of anyone on the card.

Bellator 266 is in the books and although [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] was the victorious half of the main event, he didn’t receive the highest disclosed payout according to the event’s commissioning body.

While Davis (23-6 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) pocketed a $100,000 flat salary for his three-round split decision, his opponent [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) earned $150,000 in defeat. The fight was Romero’s promotional debut with Bellator and his first bout since his UFC departure in 2020.

MMA Junkie acquired a full list of Bellator 266 payouts Wednesday from California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster. The amounts include win and show purses, but do not account for any discretionary bonuses.

Bellator 266 took place Saturday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card aired on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out the full list of Bellator 266 payouts below:

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.

[vertical-gallery id=1046319]

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.”

[lawrence-related id=1043970,1038491]

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.

[vertical-gallery id=1046319]

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:

[listicle id=1036550]

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

Bellator 266 faceoff video highlights: Phil Davis, Yoel Romero size each other up

One final time before Bellator 266, Phil Davis, Yoel Romero and the rest of the card went face to face at the ceremonial weigh-ins.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Bellator makes its return Saturday, and the promotion is featuring a key light heavyweight contender bout atop the card.

Bellator 266 takes place at SAP Center with the main card airing on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie. In the main event, former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) returns to light heavyweight to battle former Bellator champion Phil Davis (22-6 MMA, 9-3 UFC).

In the co-main event, submission ace and top welterweight contender Neiman Gracie (10-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) takes on recently re-signed Mark Lemminger (12-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) as both fighters look to climb the divisional ranks.

Following Friday’s Bellator 266 official weigh-ins, the fighters came face to face for some traditional pre-fight staredowns.

Check out the faceoffs below, including Davis vs. Romero, Gracie vs. Lemminger, DeAnna Bennett vs. Alejandra Lara, and more.

 

Phil Davis expects Yoel Romero to be just as powerful as ‘any other light heavyweight’ at Bellator 266

Phil Davis looks to rebound at Bellator 266 against a very dangerous Yoel Romero who is making his promotional debut.

Former Bellator champion [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] is looking to reach the pinnacle of the light heavyweight division once again but has a tough test to pass first on Saturday.

Davis (22-6 MMA, 9-3 BMMA), who is looking to rebound from a title challenge loss to Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 257, has an explosive and powerful opponent in his way in Yoel Romero (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

The bout serves as the main event of Bellator 266, which takes place at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET following preliminary bouts on MMA Junkie starting at 7 p.m. ET.

“I think he’ll be just like any other light heavyweight,” Davis told MMA Junkie when asked about Romero’s size and abilities in moving up a weight class. “Extremely powerful, strong, quick – you just gotta work with what you get once you get there.”

Davis expects the former UFC middleweight title challenger will have made the necessary adjustments to be well-prepared for the change in weight, given the amount of time he’s been away from action. Romero’s last outing was a unanimous decision loss in a title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 in March 2020.

Despite moving to Bellator coming off a loss, Davis remained excited for the opportunity to take on Romero when it was announced that he signed with the promotion in December.

“Any time you have a guy like him, my mind immediately goes towards, ‘I can’t wait to test my skills against him,'” Davis said. “I know that’s sort of like a weird thing, because a spectator would be like, ‘I would not want to be in there (with Romero),’ but I definitely want to be in there.”

Knowing that Romero is a big name, Davis believes a victory over him would be very good for his positioning in the division but said that it was not a motivating factor in preparation to set himself up for another title shot. The fight against a tough opponent like Romero, who he was a fan of during his UFC tenure.

Both fighters will be entering the Bellator cage coming off title losses, but Davis sees his shortcoming as an opportunity to grow ahead of one of the biggest fights in his career.

“You get fights like that and it’s an opportunity to grow,” Davis said. “Just like anything in life gives you, it’s an opportunity to learn from it, grow from it, and keep moving.”

Watch the full pre-fight interview with Phil Davis in the video above.

[vertical-gallery id=551557]

[listicle id=1004776]

Bellator 266 lineup finalized with the addition of four more prelims

The lineup for Bellator return to its Northern California home base is set with the addition of four new fights on the preliminary card.

The lineup for next week’s Bellator return to its Northern California home base is set with the addition of four new fights on the preliminary card.

[autotag]Rhalan Gracie[/autotag] (0-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will return to MMA for the first time since 2007 when he takes on [autotag]Shane Keefe[/autotag] (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at welterweight.

Plus, [autotag]Eddie Abasolo[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Art Hernandez[/autotag] (4-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a 160-pound contract weight fight; [autotag]Edwin De Los Santos[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Jon Adams[/autotag] (0-1-1 MMA, 0-1-1 BMMA) at flyweight; and [autotag]Jesse Delgado[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) fights [autotag]Joshua Dillon[/autotag] (1-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a 130-pound contract weight bout.

Bellator 266 takes place Sept. 18 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. The card will be Bellator’s first in San Jose in more than two years.

In the main event, [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) finally will make his Bellator debut when he takes on former light heavyweight champion [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] (22-6 MMA, 9-3 BMMA).

Romero signed with Bellator in December 2020 after a seven-year run with the UFC. He was booked to make his promotional debut against Anthony Johnson to open the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix in May, but was forced to withdraw because of concerns over his eye following a pre-fight medical exam.

Romero, 44, hasn’t fought since March 2020 when he dropped a unanimous decision to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 248, which marked his third consecutive loss. His other two defeats in the skid came against Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa. Romero hasn’t won since a February 2018 knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 221.

Davis is coming off an April unanimous decision loss to champion Vadim Nemkov in the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix, which snapped a three-fight winning streak.

[listicle id=889327]

The Bellator 266 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET, Showtime)

  • Phil Davis vs. Yoel Romero
  • [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mark Lemminger[/autotag]
  • [autotag]DeAnna Bennett[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Saul Rogers[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Christian Edwards[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ben Parrish[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Grant Neal[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alex Polizzi[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Anthony Adams[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khalid Murtazaliev[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Albert Gonzales[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Abraham Vaesau[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Socrates Hernandez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pedro Juarez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Erin Hunter[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bobby Seronio III[/autotag]
  • Rhalan Gracie vs. Shane Keefe
  • Eddie Abasolo vs. Art Hernandez
  • Jon Adams vs. Edwin De Los Santos
  • Jesse Delgado vs. Joshua Dillon