Tonight’s Bellator 257 event is headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between current champion Vadim Nemkov and former title holder Phil Davis.

Nemkov (12-2 MMA) and Davis (22-5 MMA) originally collided at Bellator 209 in November of 2018, with the Russian emerging victorious by way of split decision.

Since his first encounter with ‘Mr. Wonderful’, Vadim Nemkov has gone on to earn back-to-backs stoppage wins over Rafael Carvalho and Ryan Bader, the latter of which earned him the promotions 205-pound title.

Meanwhile, Phil Davis will enter tonight’s Bellator 257 main event on a three-fight winning streak. Since being outpointed by Nemkov in 2018, ‘Mr. Wonderful’ has picked up stoppage wins over Liam McGeary and Karl Albrektsson, and most recently had his hand raised against Lyoto Machida.

In addition to the light heavyweight title being on the line, the Bellator 257 main event winner will also secure a spot in the semi-finals of the promotions 205-pound tournament.

Tonight’s Vadim Nemkov vs. Phil Davis rematch proved to be a grueling twenty-five minute affair. The reigning champion in Nemkov was able to keep the contest on the feet for most of the fight, where he was able to utilize a crisp jab and some hard low kicks to control ‘Mr. Wonderful’. Despite his attempts, Davis just never seemed to really find his range or his wrestling and thus wound up on the wrong end of a judges decision.

Official Bellator 257 Result: Vadim Nemkov def. Phil Davis by unanimous decision (48-47 x3)

The loss served as Davis’ sixth career defeat, with all of those setbacks coming by way of decision.

Following his impressive win this evening, Nemkov is now slated to face the winner of Yoel Romero vs. Anthony Johnson in the tournament semi-finals.