The Bellator 266 main event in California ended with only one judge scoring the fight in favour of debutant Yoel Romero against Phil Davis who took home a split-decision win.
Davis beat Romero 30-27, 28-29, 30-26 on Saturday night in San Jose, California, meaning Romero will have to wait for a Bellator win a bit longer.
Davis sealed the contest in the final round after edging Romero out on the feet.
“He’s a monster,” Davis said. “I felt that power more times than I wished I had tonight.”
Overall, only the first two rounds of the fight were closely fought with Davis scoring on clean strikes while Romero landed hard combinations and a calf kick.
Late in the second round, it was Davis’ one-two combination backed by a body-kick that threw Romero off balance.
Davis went back to basics in the third round, taking Romero down four times, nipping in the bud any chances of a rally the former Olympic wrestling silver medallist had.
In the post-match interview, Davis thanked his parents, who were both diagnosed with cancer in 2020.
“I love you guys, and I cannot do this without you,” Davis said.
Professional fighters shared their reactions to the main event fight.
“This is the Phil Davis we all thought he could be!” – UFC fighter Derek Brunson
“Davis just put on a great fight against a legend” – UFC fighter Terrence McKiney
Davis has won four of his last five fights, falling only to Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov in April.
On the other hand, Romero was coming off of his last loss at the hands of Israel Adesanya in a UFC middleweight title fight at UFC 248 in March 2020.
