Phil Davis returned to the win column at PFL 4 on Thursday night, securing his victory this time by knockout.
The former Bellator champion achieved his first finish since October 2019 by defeating Rob Wilkinson in their light heavyweight tournament bout.
Davis initiated the action with a one-two combination followed by a body kick, feinting a takedown as Wilkinson moved forward. Wilkinson briefly hurt Davis with a right hand late in the first round, but Davis came out in the second round looking to make him pay.
“Mr. Wonderful” landed a right hand that caused Wilkinson to stumble backwards, and Davis immediately followed up with another strike that dropped the former PFL champion. Davis continued to rain down punches until the referee intervened, stopping the fight one minute into the second round. This marked Davis`s first knockout win since stopping Karl Albrektsson at Bellator 231 on Oct. 25, 2019.
Davis is now scheduled to face Sullivan Cauley in the semifinal. Cauley, known as “Sully,” advanced by finishing his last-minute opponent Alex Polizzi. Polizzi, who replaced Marcelo Nunes the day of the fight, immediately went for a takedown and held the position against the cage for an extended period. This allowed Cauley an opportunity to land vicious elbows to the side of Polizzi`s head, resulting in a TKO stoppage in just 96 seconds.
On the opposite side of the light heavyweight bracket, one-time PFL season champion Antonio Carlos Junior advanced and will take on Simeon Powell in the other semifinal contest.
“Shoeface” quickly got Karl Moore to the ground with a single leg takedown and worked from half guard before Moore was allowed to stand up. However, while Moore still had a knee on the ground, the Brazilian landed an illegal knee to the head. After reviewing the replay, the referee issued a “hard warning” instead of deducting a point.
A replay was also utilized in the second round after Junior complained of a low blow. The video showed the knee was legal, and the fight resumed. Junior landed a good right hand before securing another single-leg takedown, controlling the remainder of the round from half guard. Moore needed a finish in the third and found some success against a fatigued Junior, but couldn`t stop the Brazilian. Ultimately, Junior advanced via split decision.
Powell secured his semifinal spot by stopping Karl Albrektsson in the second round of their fight. Albrektsson had a better start, landing more significant strikes, but Powell got his attention with effective elbows from the clinch in the final seconds of the first round. In the second round, Powell continued using clinch elbows, overwhelming Albrektsson for a knockout victory.
The co-main event of PFL 4 featured a heavyweight quarterfinal clash between former interim Bellator champion Valentin Moldavsky and fellow Russian Sergey Bilostenniy. Aside from a brief pause in the opening round when the arena lights went out mid-fight, Moldavsky and Bilostenniy maintained an incredibly high pace for heavyweights.
Moldavsky briefly hurt Bilostenniy on the feet and pressed for a finish, but was immediately countered. Moldavsky was hurt, and Bilostenniy unleashed a series of punches but couldn`t secure the stoppage. The striking battle continued into round two. For the final five minutes, Moldavsky changed his strategy, opting for clinch control without landing powerful strikes or attempting takedowns. The fight went the distance, with all three judges scoring it 29-28 in favor of Moldavsky.
Moldavsky will now face Alexandr Romanov in the semifinal. Romanov, from Moldova, quickly defeated Tim Johnson in a battle between UFC veterans. As the heavyweights exchanged strikes, Johnson was caught in a standing guillotine choke. Romanov held the position, pressed Johnson against the cage, and lifted him off the ground, forcing a quick tap. This was Romanov`s 11th professional submission victory.
On the opposite side of the heavyweight tournament bracket, fellow UFC veteran Rodrigo Nascimento dug deep in his PFL debut to advance to the semifinals, where he will now meet Oleg Popov.
Abraham Bably dominated the opening round against Nascimento with heavy punches that caught the Brazilian`s attention, also working the body in the clinch. Bably`s pace slowed in the second and third rounds, but Nascimento`s nose was still bleeding. Nascimento, however, landed more effective punches overall, earning him the win on two of the three scorecards.
Popov wrestled his way to the semifinals against Karl Williams, spending the first round attempting takedowns, finally succeeding in the final seconds. Williams defended takedowns better in the next round but struggled to stay free from danger in the final 10 minutes. While Williams landed cleaner strikes, the judges awarded Popov the win via split decision, improving his professional record to 20-2.
Murray Blackwood