Davis continued to land tough kicks to the body of his challenger, while Machida had a head kick blocked heading into the final two minutes. Davis would land an ideal land that got Machidas attention and forced, what looked to be, a slip by Machida. Davis would capture a Machida body kick and nearly got a takedown as the round ended.
The former light heavyweight champs satisfied in a rematch from their UFC 163 fight over seven years back in the main event of Belaltor 245 Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Davis made a consentaneous decision that was mired with debate in the first conference.
The pacing didnt change much to start the final verse. Both Davis and Machida scored with difficult leg kicks. With just under 3 minutes to go, Machida landed a tidy one-two combination, followed by a left hand. After Davis lands an ideal hand, Machida lands a leg kick, addressed by Davis. Final minute of the battle and Machida counters a Davis leg kick with a big best hand. Another hard leg kick by Machida has changed the momentum a bit. High kick lands by Machida right before the last bell.
Both fighters were very careful early on as they each scored with singular leg and body kicks. Davis landed a nice head kick around the middle of the round that Machida consumed, and after that addressed with one of his own. The kicking exchanges continued throughout the round while Davis was utilizing a range of feints to likely set up his wrestling in the later rounds.
In the end, Davis improved to 2-0 in the series through split choice.
After investing another 15 minutes together, Davis took a commanding lead in the series in another close affair.
Phil Davis and Lyoto Machida went to the judges as soon as again.
Feline Zingano makes it through late scare to make first Bellator triumph
The main card opener in between Raymond Daniels and Peter Stanonik ended in the nights 2nd no contest surface due to unintended groin strikes. Daniels landed consecutive kicks listed below the belt that left Stanonik agonizing in misery as referee Jason Herzog waved the fight off.
After another big round in the second for Zingano, Holloway reversed fortunes in the third round. After Zingano landed an early takedown, Holloway got back to her feet and then ended up in her own full install position, landing a flurry of elbows before Zingano swept and got back on top. Holloway attempted to get back to her feet one last time, but Zingano dragged her back down, took her back and landed a barrage of strikes till the final toll of the bell.
Highly promoted prospect Ed Ruth returned to the middleweight division for the very first time in nearly 3 years, but Taylor Johnson didnt provide him a warm welcome by sending Ruth through leg lock in simply under a minute.
The co-main event saw the long-awaited Bellator debut of Cat Zingano as she handled Gabrielle Holloway. The opening round saw both ladies exchange big shots early. Zingano was able to land a hard takedown with simply over a minute to go and invested the rest of the round on top.
Zingano made the choice with a pair of 30-26 scorecards and a 29-27.
Take a look at complete Bellator 245 results listed below:
Keith Lee def. Vinicius Zani by means of consentaneous choice (30-27, 29-28 x2).
Raymond Daniels vs. Peter Stanonik ruled no-contest (two unintended shots to groin) (R2, 1:00).
Alex Polizzi def. Rafael Carvalho via unanimous decision (30-27 x3).
Cat Zingano def. Gabrielle Holloway through consentaneous choice (29-27, 30-26 x2).
Main Card
Preliminary Card.
Phil Davis def. Lyoto Machida by means of split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2).
Leslie Smith def. Amanda Bell by means of unanimous choice (29-28 x3).
Davis landed a great head kick around the halfway point of the round that Machida consumed, and then answered with one of his own. Davis continued to land tough kicks to the body of his challenger, while Machida had a head kick blocked heading into the final two minutes. Davis would land an ideal land that got Machidas attention and forced, what looked to be, a slip by Machida. Davis would capture a Machida body kick and nearly got a takedown as the round ended. After Davis lands a right hand, Machida lands a leg kick, answered by Davis.
Taylor Johnson def. Ed Ruth via submission (heel hook) (R1, 0:59).
Tyrell Fortune vs. Jack May stated no-contest (unintentional knee to groin) (R1, 2:42).
