Bellator 266: Phil Davis Ruins Yoel Romero’s Bellator Debut With Split Decision Victory
Saturday night was Yoel Romero’s return to the octagon after 18 months, and it looks like he’ll have to wait before getting back in the winning column.
Phil Davis (23-6) defeated Romero (13-6) via split decision, spoiling his Bellator debut. The main event of Bellator 266 took place in California.
Davis, a former Bellator champion and UFC fighter, landed more punches and successfully implemented five takedowns, which was enough to defeat Romero.
Even though it was the main event of the evening, the fight held only three rounds. Romero, a former UFC fighter, expressed dissatisfaction because he said he thought it was five-rounder fight. Romero was cut from the UFC after several losses in a row.
The co-main event was a welterweight clash between Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Neiman Gracie and Mark Lemminger.
Fans expected that Gracie would try takedowns and submissions, but he landed massive punches and showcased his striking skills.
🔥 @NeimanGracie scores his first career win via TKO!
Tune in to #Bellator266 LIVE on @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/qOgKW9gw8x
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) September 19, 2021
“I don’t need to take people down to win fights anymore,” Gracie said in a statement. “I can do it all, but if I take you down, oh boy. I saw he was putting his head down so I come up with the uppercut. If you keep the fight standing, it’s the hospital. If you go to the ground, it’s the cemetery.”
He defeated his rival in the early first-round via TKO (punches and elbows) at 1:27.
Georgi Karahanyan suffered a unanimous decision loss against European fighter Saul Rogers.
Karahanyan defeated two Europeans in the last two contests, and it was his third European rival in a row.
But this time Karakhanyan was not able to defeat his opponent and suffered a massive loss. Rogers displayed his skills and dominated for the whole three rounds. With this win, he is back to the winning column.
Here’s all the results from Bellator 266:
- Phil Davis def Yoel Romero Split Dec
- Neiman Gracie def Mark Lemminger KO/TKO, 1:27 R1
- DeAnna Bennett def Alejandra Lara Unanimous Dec
- Saul Rogers def G. Karakhanyan Unanimous Dec
- Ben Parrish def Christian Edwards KO/TKO, 0:38 R1
- Alex Polizzi def Grant Neal Split Dec
- Anthony Adams def K. Murtazaliev Unanimous Dec
- Bobby Seronio III def S. Hernandez Unanimous Dec
- Abraham Vaesau def Albert Gonzales KO/TKO, 2:17 R1
- Shane Keefe def Rhalan Gracie Unanimous Dec
- E. De Los Santos def Jon Adams KO/TKO, 3:29 R1
- Jesse Delgado def Joshua Dillon Unanimous Dec