Phil Davis On Yoel Romero: ‘He’s All Power, All Business’

Phil Davis added another victory to his belt after spoiling Yoel Romero’s Bellator debut. But after the battle, Davis showed respect for his opponent.

Davis (23-6 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) said in a post-fight interview that it was an intense fight. He soon realized he had to go in for the kill before it was too late and, because of Romero’s (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) skills, he said he had to make sure he got him good.

“I’m very exhausted,” Davis said. “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 round was close between Davis, a former Bellator light heavyweight champion, and Romero, a former UFC middleweight title challenger. But as soon as Davis started using his wrestling skills, the bout seemed to switch gears.

“I saw he was super sweaty, and I was like, ‘Man, I might have missed my window,’” Davis said. “… 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.”

The fight was held in the hometown of Davis, but still Californian fans, were cheering for Romero.

Romero is known for his personality and fighting style.

“Not too often do I hear everybody cheering for the other guy. It was good to be the bad guy for a while,” Davis said.