Bellator crowned a new light-heavyweight champion last night as former UFC fighter Phil Davis earned a unanimous decision victory over Liam McGeary to take the title.
Having already won Bellator’s 205lb grand-prix last year, Davis proved he’s the best in the Bellator light-heavyweight ranks with a dominant performance against the champion.
Davis took McGeary down repeatedly over the course of 25 minutes, more often than not ending up in full mount, though he wasn’t able to seal his victory with a finish and had to settle for clean sweep on the scorecards (50-43, 50-44, 50-45).
The co-main event was over in a flash, with Brennan Ward TKO’ing Saad Awad just 81 seconds into the fight with a punch to the chin after an aggressive start.
The other fights on the main card were also over swiftly, with Neiman Gracie submitting Rudy Bears with an armbar in the opening round, while Javy Ayala took just 16 seconds to KO grizzled veteran Sergei Kharitonov with a right hand.
Check out all the Bellator 163 results below.
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Main card:
Phil Davis def. Liam McGeary via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44, 50-45)
Brennan Ward def. Saad Awad via TKO (punches) at 1:21 of R1.
Neiman Gracie def. Rudy Bears via submission (armbar) at 4:39 of R1
Javy Ayala def. Sergei Kharitonov via KO (punch) at :16 of R1
Prelims:
Ed Ruth def. Dustin Collins-Miles via TKO (strikes) at 3:19 of R1
Tyrell Fortune def. Cody Miskell via TKO (strikes) at 2:22 of R1
Tyler King def. Josh Diekmann via submission (RNC) at 1:19 of R2
Tim Caron def. Steve Skrzat via TKO (strikes) at 1:22 of R2
Carlos Correia def. Ilya Kotau via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Hannah Regina def. Sarah Payant via submission (arm bar) at 4:51 of Rd1
Blair Tugman def. Walter Smith-Cotito via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Vinicius de Jesus def. James Boran via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:55 of R2
