Phil Davis

Bellator: Who should get the next shot at Vadim Nemkov?

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This past weekend at Bellator 251, Corey Anderson made his promotional debut against Melvin Manhoef. Anderson was a top ranked light heavyweight in the UFC before making the promotional jump. Many believe he can be champion inside of Bellator.

Anderson completely dominated the fight from the opening bell to the finish. Manhoef truly had no answer for Anderson’s superior wrestling. In the second round, Anderson got Manhoef to the ground and blitzed him with elbows leading to a TKO victory.

The performance was so impressive that many think he should be next for the Bellator light heavyweight champion, Vadim Nemkov. Nemkov just won the title back in August when he knocked out former champion, Ryan Bader, at Bellator 244.

Nemkov is unbeaten in his Bellator career at 5-0. He’s already taken out the likes of Liam McGeary, Phil Davis, and Rafael Carvalho. He is the cream of the crop when it comes to Bellator’s light heavyweight division.

A matchup between Nemkov and Anderson would be something fresh for the promotion’s light heavyweight division. However, there’s a familiar opponent for Nemkov that might be in front of Corey Anderson for a title shot.

What should Bellator do?

The fighter that I’m referring to is former Bellator light heavyweight champion, Phil Davis. Since making the jump to Bellator in 2015, Davis has only lost two fights. He lost to Ryan Bader and he lost a split decision to the current champion.

Other than that, it’s been smooth sailing for Davis. Davis is coming off of a split decision victory over Lyoto Machida back in September. While the performance wasn’t sensational, it was still the third straight victory for Davis since his loss to Nemkov.

Bellator is in a very interesting position. Anderson’s dominant performance put the division on notice. A fight between Nemkov and Anderson would be something new for the division. However, can they ignore the longevity of Davis’ run in Bellator?

If I had to guess, I think that the promotion will lean towards giving the fight to Davis with Anderson fighting the winner. I could be wrong, but Anderson’s post-fight interview may have told us the future. He called out both Nemkov and Davis in his interview.

After Bellator 245 loss, what’s next for Lyoto Machida?

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This past weekend at Bellator 245, Lyoto Machida (26-10) lost by split decision to Phil Davis (22-5, 1 NC) in their rematch. The two had fought seven years prior in a fight that went to Davis while everyone thought that Machida had won the fight.

This loss was the second straight defeat for the 42 year old Lyoto Machida. Both of the losses were split decision losses to Davis and Gegard Mousasi at middleweight. With two losses in a row, what is next for The Dragon inside the Bellator cage?

Bellator’s next steps for Machida

Back in 2009, fight fans heard the famous line, “Welcome to the Machida era,” from Joe Rogan after Machida became the UFC light heavyweight champion. Machida was 15-0 and looked to be the next dominant champion in MMA.

Since that moment, Machida has gone 11-10 over the past eleven years inside the UFC and Bellator. Machida has had title shots in both organizations, but failed to capture another world title. He has great wins, but always seems to be bested by the elites.

So what does Bellator do with Machida? This is a really tough question to answer. I think that he’s better suited to return to middleweight which is natural weight class. Bellator just announced the title fight with Douglas Lima and Gegard Mousasi.

Considering the state of Bellator‘s middleweight division, it’s not out of the question that Machida is just one fight away from a title shot. His loss to Mousasi was razor close. I think Bellator should book Machida for another middleweight fight before having him fight for the title next.

Bellator 245 Recap: Phil Davis edges Lyoto Machida again

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Phil Davis, MMA, UFC

Bellator returned tonight for the first time in a couple of weeks. After a flurry of news that came out today, the promotion put it’s fighting foot forward tonight. In the main event of the evening, Phil Davis (22-5, 1 NC) and Lyoto Machida (26-10) went head-to-head in a rematch.

Seven years ago, the two men went to battle in the UFC. Davis won that fight, but most people believe Machida won that fight. The two men had a chance to settle the score inside the Bellator cage tonight.

Another Close Decision

Going into Bellator 245, I figured Davis would really try to be aggressive with his wrestling. Point striking with Lyoto Machida just doesn’t seem like the ideal strategy. In the first round of the main event, Davis didn’t shoot for one takedown.

Instead, he seemed content with striking from distance with Machida. To my surprise, Davis did a really good job of landing strikes in the first especially kicks up the middle. The first round could have really gone either way with Machida also landing good shots.

The second round was really strong for Davis. He continued to land decent strikes, but he stayed away from grappling outside of a brief exchange at the end of the round. Machida seemed like he was having a really difficult time pulling the trigger in the second round.

The third round saw a little reversal. Davis seemed to be watching more, and Machida was throwing a lot more. Davis had great success with kicks up the middle in the first two rounds, but completely abandoned them in the third. Machida scored more and easily won the final round in my opinion.

On the official scorecards, the judges gave the victory to Phil Davis by split decision. Machida landed more total strikes, but two of the judges gave the win to Davis. The win marks the ninth win inside the Bellator cage for Mr. Wonderful.

Bellator 245 News and Notes

Bellator 245 had an interesting night of fights. One of the things that stood out is that two fights ended in a no contest due to groin strikes. Besides that, it was a solid night of action from the promotion.

In the co-main event of the evening, Cat Zingano (11-4) used a heavy wrestling attack to defeat Gabby Holloway (6-6) in her Bellator debut. One of the shockers of the night was Ed Ruth (8-3) getting caught in a quick heel hook by Taylor Johnson (6-1).

Tomorrow night, the bantamweights will take center stage as Patrick Mix and Juan Archuleta battle for the vacant bantamweight title. Bellator is putting their best foot forward in a rare evening where they go head-to-head with the UFC.

Bellator 245 Preview: Phil Davis and Lyoto Machida go head to head again

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Phil Davis, MMA, UFC

Bellator MMA returns tomorrow night with a solid lineup of fights for their Friday night fight night. In the main event of the evening, Phil Davis (21-5, 1 NC) takes on Lyoto Machida (26-9) for the second time in a light heavyweight main event.

With Vadim Nemkov having just knocked out Ryan Bader at Bellator 244, this is a big fight to determine the next title contender. In addition to this fight, Bellator recently signed Corey Anderson to it’s growing light heavyweight division.

Phil Davis vs Lyoto Machida 2

The two men in Bellator 245’s main event do have some history. The history dates back to UFC 163 where Phil Davis was able to win a unanimous decision over Machida in Brazil. The fight was controversial as all 13 media members scored the fight for Machida.

Machida outstruck Davis the entire fight, but Davis landed a takedown at the end of the first two rounds. Those takedowns were enough to win him the fight on the three judges scorecards. Now, these two will rematch seven years later.

Davis has been very good since making the move to Bellator. In ten fights, Davis is 8-2 with his only losses being to Nemkov and Bader. Both of those fights were razor close split decisions.

With Davis you know what he’s going to do. He can strike, but he mainly uses his striking as a way to setup his tremendous wrestling. He will be looking to secure takedowns to defeat Machida once again.

Machida is moving back up to light heavyweight after fighting Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 228 last September. Machida lost a close decision in that contest. The dragon is looking for one final run towards a world title.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion is known for his karate striking. His unique blitzing style stifles many opponents that step across the cage from him. He will be looking to use that striking to outpoint and defeat Davis.

When it comes to a prediction, I think that this fight is going to be razor close. The only way it’s not is if Davis gets Machida down and holds him down. Machida is 42 years old, and I think Davis is much improved from their first fight, but it’s still going to be close.

Prediction: Phil Davis by Split Decision

Rest of Bellator 245

There are more solid fights on the card for Bellator 245. Cat Zingano (10-4) is making her debut against Gabrielle Holloway (6-5). This is the first time we’ve seen Zingano since her fight with Megan Anderson where a head kick went right into her eye which stopped the fight.

Another fight that is worth tuning into is the middleweight matchup between Ed Ruth (8-2) and Taylor Johnson (5-1). Bellator 245 doesn’t have the biggest names on the card, but it’s a night that should be filled with some solid fights.

Does Bellator have a better light heavyweight division than the UFC?

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UFC, Dana White

Last week, Bellator President Scott Coker made some pretty bold statements about his promotion’s light heavyweight division. He said that they had the best light heavyweight division in the world after Jon Jones vacated his UFC light heavyweight title to move to heavyweight.

After Vadim Nemkov knocked out Ryan Bader at Bellator 244, Coker doubled down on his claim that they were better than the UFC. “When Jon Jones moving up to heavyweight, clearly we have the best division.”

Bellator’s claim

The UFC also had an event this weekend. After the event, the media asked UFC President Dana White about Coker’s claims that Bellator had the better light heavyweight division. With a big smile, White replied to the media, “Isn’t he cute?”

Bellator has some very solid guys in their light heavyweight division. Nemkov, Phil Davis, Corey Anderson, Lyoto Machida, and others. You can throw Bader in too although I’m sure he’s going to be sticking to heavyweight after that fight.

Those are all very solid fighters, but the UFC president made a point that rings very true about their light heavyweight division. He stated, “Everyone they have in their light heavyweight division, we let go of. That’s like the dumbest f–king thing I’ve ever heard.”

Anderson, Machida, Bader, and Davis were all former members of the UFC that the promotion let walk. I understand what Scott Coker is trying to do with making his statement. However, I’m not sure the statement holds a lot of weight.

The UFC is better at the top

The UFC doesn’t have the same stacked light heavyweight division they once had, but it’s still the best game in town. Corey Anderson was ranked fourth in the UFC prior to him being signed by Bellator, but he was just starched earlier this year by Jan Blachowicz.

I believe that Dominick Reyes is better than anyone in Bellator. I also believe that the best version of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is better than anyone inside of Bellator’s light heavyweight division.

If the four best UFC light heavyweights (Reyes, Blachowicz, Johnson, Thiago Santos) fought the four best Bellator light heavyweights (Nemkov, Anderson, Davis, Bader), would you favor any of the Bellator guys?

The answer to that question is probably no. Bellator has a good light heavyweight division, but it is not better than the UFC‘s. This round goes to Dana White and the guys in the UFC.

BREAKING: Corey Anderson has signed with Bellator MMA

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Corey Anderson

There has been a massive shakeup in the light heavyweight division for both the UFC and for Bellator. News just broke via Ariel Helwani that Corey Anderson (13-5) asked for his release from the UFC and has signed with Bellator.

What’s it mean for Bellator and the UFC?

The move is a bit of a head scratcher. Anderson was currently ranked as the fourth best light heavyweight in the UFC. There had been no recent news of rifts between Anderson and the UFC.

After UFC 244, Anderson did come out and say that he wanted to be released if he didn’t receive a title shot. Anderson took a fight with Jan Blachowicz instead and he was knocked out in the first round.

After hitting that roadblock, it looks like Anderson was ready to move on. The UFC’s loss is Bellator‘s gain. Bellator doesn’t have the deepest talent in the division, but Anderson will truly bolster their roster.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see Anderson get a shot at the title in his first fight with the promotion. Bellator is known for rushing former UFC fighters.

If not his first fight, you might see him take on someone like the winner of Phil Davis/Lyoto Machida in his first fight. The Bellator champion, Ryan Bader, is currently scheduled to fight Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244.

Given the timeline of the Machida – Davis fight, don’t be shocked if Anderson gets a shot right out of the gate. What do you think of Corey Anderson’s move to sign with Bellator?