Light heavyweight veterans Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis will square off for a second time in the headliner of tonight’s Bellator 245 event.
The pair first met back in August of 2013 while under the UFC banner, with Davis emerging victorious by way of unanimous decision.
Since then the former UFC light heavyweight champion, Machida (26-9 MMA), went on a lengthy run at middleweight. ‘The Dragon’ would compete for the UFC’s middleweight title against Chris Weidman in July of 2014, but ultimately lost the bout by unanimous decision.
More recently, Lyoto Machida signed with Bellator MMA where he has since gone 2-1, while earning wins over Rafael Carvalho and Chael Sonnen.
As for Phil Davis (21-5 MMA), the former Bellator light heavyweight champion is coming off a TKO victory over Karl Albrektsson. ‘Mr. Wonderful’ has won four of his past five fights overall, with his lone loss in that time coming to newly crowned Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov.
Round one of the Bellator 245 main event begins and Lyoto Machida quickly takes the center of the cage. He slowly creeps forward in his karate stance. Davis paws with his jab to keep him at bay. Both men are happy to feel things out early here. Phil Davis snaps off a nice low kick. Machida attempts a kick to the body but it falls just short. Davis with a left hook over the top. Lyoto returns fire with a low kick that connects. ‘The Dragon’ follows that up with a hard kick to the body. ‘Mr. Wonderful’ replies with one of his own. This has been a kickboxing match early on. Lyoto with a front kick to the body of Davis. The fighters trade low kicks. Machida attempts another front kick and then lands a low kick. Phil Davis is moving forward now but is having difficulty finding his range. Lyoto Machida is backing up but looking to counter. He lands a low kick and then a straight left. Davis responds with a hard low kick of his own. The bell sounds to end round one.
Round two of the Bellator 245 main event begins and Phil Davis looks to come out quickly with a pair of low kicks. Machida swings and misses with a high kick. Davis delivers a nice kick to the body of ‘The Dragon’. He lands another and Lyoto replies with a low kick. More snapping kicks from both fighters. Neither man has looked to take the fight to the floor as of this point. Another good body kick lands for ‘Mr. Wonderful’. Machida is connecting with some low kicks but he is definitely getting outpointed here. Davis lands a nice right hand over the top. Less than two minutes remain in the second round. Phil Davis with another teap kick. He switches to low kicks. Lyoto Machida attempts to rush in with a combination but Davis circles out and avoids. The American shoots in and forces Machida against the cage. He drags him down for a brief second but Lyoto is quick to scramble up to his feet. The horn sounds to end round two.
https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/1304630150131314688
We are headed to round three between @PhilMrWonderful and @LyotoMachidaFW. How have you scored the bout thus far?#Bellator245 pic.twitter.com/UEzFnFV4nz
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) September 12, 2020
The third and final round of the Bellator 245 main event begins and Lyoto Machida swings and misses with a left hand. He is likely down in this fight and thus needs a finish. The fighters exchange low kicks. Davis with a combination. Machida replies with a low kick. Davis tosses another right hand up the middle. Davis circles to his left and lands a low kick. Machida returns fire accordingly. Phil Davis with a right hand over the top that partially connects. Another low kick exchange from the light heavyweight contenders. That has been the main choice of arsenal for both men in this fight. Davis looks to go high but Machida blocks it. Lyoto with a pair of solid low kicks. Davis pushes forward with a combination but it falls short and he eats a kick to the body. More pressure from Phil Davis but he cannot get anything off before the bell sounds to end the contest.
Tonight's main event goes to the judge's scorecards. How did you score this bout?#Bellator245 pic.twitter.com/4zjGzqPKNB
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) September 12, 2020
Official Bellator 245 Result: Phil Davis def. Lyoto Machida (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Who would you like to see Phil Davis fight next following his split decision victory over Lyoto Machida this evening at Bellator 245? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on September 11, 2020