Bellator 186: Bader vs. Davis took place Friday, November 3 live from the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State in University Park, PA. An enthusiastic and partisan crowd was fully behind PSU alums Ed Ruth and Phil Davis, and elevated a fun card into something special.
In the main event, light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader successfully defended his 205lb title for the first time, finishing Linton Vassell with some heavy ground and pound in the second round. Prior to that, the inaugural Bellator women’s flyweight title was awarded to Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, who submitted Emily Ducote in the fifth round to make history.
Yet the story of the night was the sensational debut of former Ohio University wrestler Tywan Claxton, whose absolutely epic flying knee knockout of Jonny Bowman shocked the world. One of the most memorable debuts in recent memory, Claxton came into Bellator at 8-0 as an amateur, with a gift for promotion and a ton of potential. He exceeded all expectations on the night, however, landing a knee reminiscent to those of MVP and Paul Daley, also under the Bellator banner.
You can check out the video highlights from the evening below, including all five main card fights and Claxton’s promotional and professional debut.
