One of two light heavyweight World Tournament semifinals at PFL Chicago, Phil Davis vs. Sullivan Cauley served as the evening’s co-main event.
The bout came on a night with some questionable scorecards (Dalton Rosta vs. Aaron Jeffery, Sergio Pettis vs. Raufeon Stots) and with one outright bizarre ending, as a No Contest in Alexandr Romanov vs. Valentin Moldavsky saw an injured Romanov, carried out on a stretcher due to a nasty low blow, advance to the PFL heavyweight World Tournament final.
Davis, a former Bellator champ and UFC contender, proved elusive early, as Cauley had to endure an extended feeling out process. Even when the action did pick up, with Cauley attempting to target the body, Davis was just plain hard to hit. And in the back half of the round, it was Davis closing the distance, clinching up, and looking to land a takedown. Which he did, care of a bodylock and a trip. While Cauley was immediately back to his feet, Davis never let go of the hold, and slammed him back down again.
Once again, Cauley popped up, and even dove in on a double-leg attempt of his own, before fanning on a high kick. After five minutes, the lessons learned were clear: Davis had the edge in wrestling, Cauley on the feet.
Cauley, as he had in the opening frame, began to rely on his right hand in round two; that appeared to be his most effective weapon. Davis fired a kick, while Cauley doubled up on that right. Davis ripped another kick to the body of Sullivan, Cauley jabbed the body. “Mr. Wonderful” Phil Davis then fell back on this wrestling, using a bodylock to his advantage again. And when Cauley returned to his feet, Davis landed a nasty knee to the face, opening up an equally nasty cut.
Despite a faceful of blood, Sullivan Cauley would clip Davis with a headkick towards the final minute, then land a knockdown! Davis shot in out of desperation, and suddenly the round had a different feel- though Davis did complete the takedown, and even went after a half-hearted face crank briefly.
Phil Davis opened round three with a kick to the body, but whether he was fully recovered remained a question. His first takedown attempt was sloppy, with Cauley easily pulling free. Cauley targeted the body with a jab, and worked to pin Davis down on the outside. He’d then catch a Davis kick, trying but failing to dump the former Bellator champ. Another level change from Davis saw Cauley pull free, but this time, Davis went right in on a second attempt, and briefly took Cauley down. To his credit, Cauley was again back up, with just under half a round remaining. He’d try to put the pressure on, only for Davis to tie things up in the final minute.
They’d go to the scorecards, on a night where the judges had been iffy at best. All three judges awarded the fight to Cauley, with two giving him all three rounds against the much more experienced Davis. He’s headed to the light heavyweight World Tournament final, opposite Antonio Carlos Jr.
Official Result: Sullivan Cauley def. Phil Davis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
