After suffering a loss in the opening round of the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix, former champion Phil Davis needed a win at Bellator 266 to remain a player in the division. Davis got the job done at Bellator 266, picking up a big win over Yoel Romero in the night’s main event.
Davis and Romero fought at a relatively slow pace on the feet before Davis used his wrestling attack to take over the fight. Davis’ wrestling was especially impressive considering the former NCAA champion was outwrestling a former Olympic silver medalist. In the end, Davis took the win via a split decision in a fight that was far clearer than the cards indicated.
With the win, Davis remained in the No. 3 spot of the Bellator MMA Fighter Rankings at light heavyweight. Romero remains unranked with the fight marking his debut in the promotion.
Below are the top-10 pound-for-pound rankings for both the men and women. The full top-10 rankings for each division within the promotion can be found here. The rankings are voted on by 17 members of the media.
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Editor’s note: CBS Sports insider Brian Campbell is a member of the 17-person voting panel. Bellator and CBS Sports are both owned by ViacomCBS.
Bellator Rankings (Sept. 21)
Men’s pound-for-pound
|
1. AJ McKee |
18-0 |
|
2. Patricio Pitbull |
32-5 |
|
3. Vadim Nemkov |
12-2 |
|
4. Gegard Mousasi |
47-7-2 |
|
5. Ryan Bader |
27-6 |
|
6. Yaroslav Amosov |
26-0 |
|
7. Sergio Pettis |
21-5 |
|
8. Douglas Lima |
32-9 |
|
9. Corey Anderson |
15-5 |
|
10. Juan Archuleta |
25-3 |
Women’s pound-for-pound
|
1. Cris Cyborg |
23-2 |
|
2. Juliana Velasquez |
11-0 |
|
3. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane |
11-1 |
|
4. Julia Budd |
15-3 |
|
5. Liz Carmouche |
15-7 |
|
6. Denise Kielholtz |
13-8 6-3 |
|
7. Arlene Blencowe |
14-8 |
|
8. Cat Zingano |
12-4 |
|
9. Kana Watanabe |
10-0-1 |
|
10. Leslie Smith |
12-8-1 |
Other notable results
- Welterweight: Neiman Gracie remains No. 4 in the division after scoring an impressive knockout of Mark Lemminger in the night’s co-main event.
- Women’s flyweight: After losing a 129.2-pound catchweight fight against DeAnna Bennett, Alejandra Lara dropped two spots to No. 7. Bennett, who was previously unranked after losing her promotional debut, moves to No. 8
