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)

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“You are what to you tell yourself. If he’s in his prime…he’s framing it as a younger person,” Davis told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“Experience’s not everything. It’s something though. He speaks like a guy that hasn’t gone into the second round.”

Davis (25-7) isn’t wrong. In 8 professional bouts, 7 victories with 1 loss, Cauley has not seen the second round. The younger fighter earlier in the day said that his cardio was one of the best in the game compared to anyone.

Davis scoffed.

“Can we compare him to anyone? How can we compare him if he hasn’t been to the third round?,” he asked.

At 40-years-old and 17 years into his professional MMA career Davis is still hungry for belts and checks. A win over Cauley on Friday will get him a ticket to the finals and the winner of Antonio Carlos Jr and Simeon Powell.

“I’m just enjoying the ride. I’m having fun. Each day I continue to have fun in my training. A lot of people get to a place, maybe it’s 20s maybe it’s 30s, and they say I’ve done what I need to do. I’m ready to move on,” he said.

“For the people that continue to keep going on and doing it at a high level they’re probably doing a lot of things right. I just enjoy what I do. I love going to work every day.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Phil Davis above. He takes on Sullivan Cauley in the semifinals of the PFL World Tournament on Friday night.

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Middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight tournament action was slated for the event, taking place at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL. Headlining the show, former Bellator title challenger Fabian Edwards, who was looking to book a spot in the final at the expense of Josh Silveira.

Silveira had been to a PFL final before, coming up short against Impa Kasanganay for light heavyweight gold.

In the night’s co-main event, Phil Davis looked to adance in the 205lb tournament, with Sullivan Cauley looking to upset the veteran and former Bellator champ. UFC alum Alexander Romanov, meanwhile, was pitted against Bellator standout and former interim champ Valentin Moldavsky.

Full results from Thursday’s weigh-ins can be found below.

PFL Chicago: Edwards vs. Silveira Weigh-In Results

Main card

Middleweight: Fabian Edwards (186) vs. Josh Silveira (185.5) – World Tournament Semifinal
Light Heavyweight: Phil Davis (206) vs. Sullivan Cauley (205.6) – World Tournament Semifinal
Bantamweight: Sergio Pettis (134.2) vs. Raufeon Stots (135.8)
Middleweight: Dalton Rosta (185.4) vs. Aaron Jeffrey (185.6) – World Tournament Semifinal
Light Heavyweight: Antônio Carlos Júnior (205.6) vs. Simeon Powell (205.8) – World Tournament Semifinal

Preliminary card

Heavyweight: Valentin Moldavsky (237.8) vs. Alexander Romanov (264.4) – World Tournament Semifinal
Lightweight: Baggio Ali Walsh (155.8) vs. Ronnie Gibbs (155.4)
Heavyweight: Oleg Popov (249.2) vs Rodrigo Nascimento (257) – World Tournament Semifinal
Light Heavyweight: Karl Albrektsson (204.6) vs. Rafael Xavier (205) – World Tournament Alternate bout

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The event featured former Bellator MMA 205lb champ Phil Davis headlining against ex-PFL light heavyweight champ Rob Wilkinson. While neither man had held gold in recent years, it was still a champ versus champ battle of sorts, underscored by the fact that Davis was making his PFL debut in the fight. He had not competed since a 2023 fight under the Bellator banner, prior to the promotion being acquired by the PFL.

Also in action on Thursday, former Bellator interim heavyweight champ Valentin Moldavsky, former UFC heavyweights Tim Johnson and Karl Williams, and ex-PFL champ Antonio Carlos Junior.

All of the scheduled bouts at Thursday’s PFL 4 were quarterfinals in the PFL World Tournament.

Where to Watch 2025 PFL 4

Thursday, May 1, 2025 found the PFL at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida for PFL 4. The card airs live on ESPN2/ESPN+ in the U.S., and DAZN elsewhere. Full results from the event can be found below. The preliminary card kicks off at 7:30PM ET, 4:30PM PT.

2025 PFL 4: Davis vs. Wilkinson Results

Main card

Light Heavyweight: Phil Davis def. Rob Wilkinson by TKO, Round 2, 0:51
Heavyweight: Valentin Moldavsky def. Sergey Bilostenniy by split decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
Light Heavyweight: Antônio Carlos Júnior def. Karl Moore by split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)
Light Heavyweight: Simeon Powell def. Karl Albrektsson by TKO, Round 2, 2:05

Preliminary card

Heavyweight: Alexander Romanov def. Timothy Johnson by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 1:53
Heavyweight: Oleg Popov def. Karl Williams by split decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)
Light Heavyweight: Sullivan Cauley def. Alex Polizzi by TKO, Round 1, 1:36
Heavyweight: Rodrigo Nascimento def. Abraham Bably by split decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)

The post 2025 PFL 4: Davis vs. Wilkinson Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Wilkinson (19-3) no longer has to deal with the season points format as PFL has adopted a strict tournament style. Still it’s not all shiny and new for the Aussie.

“I don’t think it’s completely new. I think it’s mainly with the tournament, or the season, it’s the back to back fighting. Getting your body and mind right for that,” Wilkinson told reporters including Cageside Press on Tuesday.

“Making sure you don’t burn out from training and that you can recover after each fight. Get ready for the next fight.”

PFL has also changed the controversial “no elbows” rule and fighters will now be able to strike with them. With a nickname like ‘Razor’ Wilkinson welcomes the change.

“It’s good that the PFL are doing elbows now. I’m not sure why they weren’t really. I always thought it was because they didn’t want cuts for back-to-back fights. We’re still fighting 8-weeks apart. I think it’s good,” he said.

This main event bout against Davis isn’t the first time Wilkinson is supposed to face him. Their previous fight was canceled due to Davis withdrawing from the bout. It’s made for a sort of extended fight camp for Wilkinson.

“I prepared last year of him. This camp’s a bit different. I moved back to Australia to do my camps now living back home,” he said.

“Excited to be back home training out of Australia for this one.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Rob Wilkinson above. He faces Phil Davis in the main event of PFL World Tournament Week 3 this Thursday night.

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In the main event, a champion versus champion battle, with former Bellator MMA light heavyweight champion taking on PFL ex-champ Rob Wilkinson. Both men were UFC veterans who had found considerable success after leaving that promotion; Davis was making his PFL debut in the fight, having last competed for Bellator in 2023.

In the co-main event, meanwhile, former Bellator interim heavyweight champion Valentin Moldavsky, a student of the legendary Fedor Emelianenko, was paired up with Sergey Bilostenniy in a heavyweight quarterfinal bout. All fights set for Thursday’s 2025 PFL 4 card were, in fact, quarterfinals in the PFL World Tournament, with the lone exception of the 205lb tournament alternate bout featuring Alex Polizzi and Rafael Xavier.

Weigh-ins for the 2025 PFL 4 card take place Wednesday, April 30 in Orlando; results can be found below.

2025 PFL 4: Davis vs. Wilkinson Weigh-In Results

Main card

Light Heavyweight: Phil Davis (206) vs. Rob Wilkinson (206)
Heavyweight: Valentin Moldavsky (236.8) vs. Sergey Bilostenniy (240.8)
Light Heavyweight: Antônio Carlos Júnior (205.6) vs. Karl Moore (205.8)
Light Heavyweight: Karl Albrektsson (204.8) vs. Simeon Powell (206)

Preliminary card

Heavyweight: Alexander Romanov (264.2) vs. Timothy Johnson (264.6)
Heavyweight: Karl Williams (259) vs. Oleg Popov (249.2)
Light Heavyweight: Sullivan Cauley (205.6) vs. Marcelo Nunes (205.6)
Heavyweight: Rodrigo Nascimento (256.6) vs. Abraham Bably (248.4)
Light Heavyweight: Alex Polizzi (204.2) vs. Rafael Xavier (205.2) – alternate bout

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Beyond Davis’s own fight, the Penn State alum and former Bellator light heavyweight champion was also asked about another wrestler from that storied collegiate program, Bo Nickal, during Tuesday’s media day.

“He’s still super green, so if you’re impressed with Bo right now, give him some time. Let the man cook, he’s getting better by the day,” exclaimed Davis, who is clearly on board with Nickal’s MMA career so far. “He’s still putting on incredibly impressive performances, and each day he’s just getting a little bit better.”

Calling Nickal “extremely brilliant as a competitor,” Davis added that he’s excited, hyped, and proud of the UFC star’s run so far. And he expects more to come. “In all honesty I think Penn State has kind of run away with wrestling, and we quite possibly could have some more guys in the MMA pipeline.”

Born in Pennsylvania, Phil Davis was a four-time Division I All-American with Penn State, and won the NCAA national title in 2008- so rest assured, “Mr. Wonderful” knows a thing or two about wrestling. As for his own upcoming fight, Davis revealed that he’s in a good place as far as training camp is concerned ahead of his fight with ex-PFL champ Rob Wilkinson.

“Training camp was pretty good, pretty solid, pretty solid training camp. I have great people around me,” stated Davis. “I’ve always had really great training partners, and over the years, I’m so fortunate to be able to be in this game for a number of years, and over time, those training partners move away, life happens, and they retire, just all sorts of things.”

“I’m in such a great spot now because I’m helping to bring up a really good group of MMA professionals. They’re definitely people that I’m excited for the media at large to get to know one day. In addition to learning skills, you also have to learn how to train as hard as you can without hurting your teammate.”

When Davis was still young in his career, he recalled, “Brandon Vera, he would beat the crap out of me, and he would do it in the sweetest way possible. He would never knock me out, he would just be “you okay? Alright.”

“I was learning as I was losing. And that is the most incredible thing you can do as a training partner, is jut help your partner to learn,” continued Davis. “And now I’m in that position where I’m able to hurt my training partner, but no one wins by being hurt. I’m able to really bring that lesson to life of beating my training partner, but allowing them to learn in the process. And ultimately, they’ve been able to push me. I’m just in such a great sport, I have such a good group of training partners right now because of that.”

Watch the full 2025 PFL 4 media day appearance by Phil Davis above.

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The PFL’s heavyweight World Tournament will see former Bellator star Valentin Moldavsky in action, along with recently released UFC heavyweight Alexander Romanov. Linton Vassell, who competed for gold under the Bellator banner at light heavyweight, continues his heavyweight run. UFC/Bellator Vet Tim Johnson also returns.

Johnson, who made it to the semifinals last season, was last seen losing a short-notice scrap with Vadim Nemkov at the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai event in January.

The heavyweight roster, minus alternates, looks as follows:

• Valentin Moldavsky (13-4) of Russia
• Alexander Romanov (18-3) of Moldova
• Oleg Popov (19-2) of Russia
• Linton Vassell (25-10) of England
• Sergey Bilostenniy (13-3) of Russia
• Tim Johnson (18-11) of U.S.A.
• Pouya Rahmani (4-0) of U.A.E.
• Abraham Bably (5-1) of England

Light Heavyweight sees the return to action of “Mr. Wonderful” himself, Phil Davis, a former UFC contender and Bellator MMA champion. Also returning is Rob Wilkinson, a former PFL champ, and fellow PFL light heavyweight champion and UFC alum Antonio Carlos Junior. RIZIN and Bellator alum Karl Albrektsson is also in the mix.

The light heavyweight tournament will include:

• Phil Davis (24-7) of the United States
• Rob Wilkinson (19-3) of Australia
• Karl Moore (12-3) of Ireland
• Marcelo Nunes (11-2) of Brazil
• Antonio Carlos Jr. (16-6) of Brazil
• Simeon Powell (10-1) of England
• Karl Albrektsson (14-6) of Sweden
• Sullivan Cauley (6-1) of U.S.A.

Light heavyweight alternates will be Alex Polizzi (11-4) of the U.S., best known for his Bellator MMA run, and Rafael Xavier (13-8) of Germany.

The post PFL Announces Roster for Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight World Tournament appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Mr. Wonderful” was arguably ahead of the curve when he moved from the UFC to Bellator MMA in 2015, part of a trend that would see fellow 205’ers Ryan Bader, Lyoto Machida, and Corey Anderson follow suit.

In more recent times, the landscape for free agency in MMA has become more than just a two-horse race. In addition to dominant force UFC and rival Bellator, the PFL, and ONE Championship, not to mention non-MMA entities like BKFC have provided a multitude of options for fighters looking to be paid their worth.

We asked Davis whether the free agent market was healthier today that it was back when he opted to pursue free agency, in a recent exclusive interview.

“I definitely believe so. I definitely believe so. In 2015, Bellator was the only other place that could pay you bigger money than the UFC,” Davis noted. “And now, there’s a couple other homes. I’m glad, I’m so glad that there’s more opportunities for guys to make money, and to get great fights also. Not just make money to fight nobodies. There’s great guys in several different companies. So I love it. I think it’s much better, and I’m glad more people are exploring free agency.”

The catalyst for this question was the recent move by now-former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, by far the biggest name to split from that promotion in years. Ngannou not only jumped ship, much like Davis years ago, but did so as a reigning champion, eventually signing with the PFL — and negotiating a two million dollar purse for his first opponent.

That came as a surprise to many, but Davis is more thankful than anything.

“Was I surprised? I don’t know if I was surprised more than I was thankful that people are just being aware. He [Ngannou] is now paving the way not just for himself but for other people, and I just cannot say enough how thankful I am that there’s people like that, that keep it in mind that the sport has to progress. And it progresses because of people like Francis.”

A rising tide lifts all ships, as the saying goes — though time will tell if Ngannou’s move does have a trickle-down effect in MMA. In the meantime, Davis has Corey Anderson to contend with at Bellator 297. It’s a fight many have been expecting to happen since Anderson left the UFC to join Davis in Bellator, a fight Davis himself believed would happen eventually.

“Absolutely. He’s a great fighter. I loved his career over in the UFC, and he’s been doing great for Bellator,” said Davis. “So this is a match-up I definitely wanted.”

Two talented wrestlers coming together can often lead to a stand-up battle, but Davis isn’t painting himself into a corner. “I don’t like to dictate necessarily where the fight will take place. I’ll see every opportunity that I think is there, and I’ll go for it. I don’t think he’s impossible to take down. I think everybody is very capable of being taken down.”

Most are looking at Davis vs. Anderson as a possible title eliminator, especially with light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov fighting Yoel Romero the same night. Davis has faced both men before, and doesn’t have a preference as to who he fights should things go his way in Chicago on June 16.

“It’s a rematch either way. I’m good, I’m good,” Davis said. “Either way, rematches are weird fights. Rematches are weird fights for both the winner and the loser, because you do things that you don’t normally do to try to catch the guy off guard. So I suspect both of those fights would be very interesting fights. I want them both.”

There’s an outside chance neither man holds gold moving forward, however. In an earlier interview with Cageside Press, Nemkov suggested that he could move to heavyweight, adding that such a move would be permanent.

“I guess [the division’s] up for grabs,” replied Davis when informed of the comments, explaining that he never makes a plan in terms of future fights, “because you just don’t know. And this is exactly what I mean. You just don’t know what’s going on.”

Davis believes that Nemkov is the type of fighter who can succeed in any promotion at any weight class, calling the move an interesting one. As for it’s impact on 205, “whoever’s around will have to contend for the title,” finished Davis, “and I’ll be there.”

Watch our full interview with Bellator 297’s Phil Davis above. Davis faces Cory Anderson at the event at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL on June 16, 2023.

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On Thursday, promotion officials announced via press release that Corey Anderson (16-6-1), who has twice faced current 205lb champ Vadim Nemkov, will fight ex-champ Phil Davis (24-6, 1NC) at the event on June 16, 2023.

The card is set to take place at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL, and will feature Nemkov defending his title against Yoel Romero in the main event.

Anderson saw his first title fight with Nemkov, part of the light heavyweight grand prix, end in a no contest after he landed an accidental head butt on the Russian. The rematch last November ended in a unanimous decision win for Nemkov, who retained his title and won the million dollars in prize money for claiming victory in the grand prix.

Davis, who for a time shared a home in the UFC with Anderson, has won his last two fights, against Julius Anglickas and Yoel Romero. But thanks to “Mr. Wonderful” having two prior losses to champ Nemkov, it’s Romero, not himself, fighting for gold in Chicago.

Anderson currently sits at the #1 spot in the division, while Davis occupies the #2 ranking. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine the fight as anything other than a title eliminator.

Bellator 297 also features featherweight champ Patricio Pitbull making the drop to 135lbs, where he’ll face Sergio Pettis in hopes of earning a title in a third weight class. In addition to 145lb gold, Pitbull has previously held the promotion’s lightweight title.

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