Phil Davis returned to the win column at PFL 4 on Thursday night, securing a significant knockout victory.
The former Bellator champion earned his first finish since October 2019 by defeating Rob Wilkinson in the first round of the promotion’s 205-pound tournament.
The fight began with Davis landing a one-two combination and a body kick, immediately threatening with a takedown as Wilkinson pressed forward. Wilkinson managed to land a right hand late in the first round that briefly stunned Davis, but “Mr. Wonderful” came into the second frame looking to make him pay.
Davis connected with a right hand that forced Wilkinson to back up momentarily, then followed up with another powerful shot that dropped the former PFL champion. Davis continued with ground punches until the referee intervened, stopping the bout at one minute of the second round. This marked Davis’s first knockout win since finishing Karl Albrektsson at Bellator 231 on October 25, 2019.
Davis is now scheduled to face Sullivan Cauley in the semifinal match. Cauley advanced after finishing last-minute replacement Alex Polizzi. Polizzi, who stepped in for Marcelo Nunes on fight day, immediately shot for a takedown and held the position against the cage. Cauley exploited this by landing vicious elbows to the side of the head, resulting in a TKO stoppage in just 96 seconds.
On the other side of the light heavyweight bracket, one-time PFL season champion Antonio Carlos Junior advanced to face Simeon Powell in the second semifinal contest.
“Shoeface” wasted no time taking Karl Moore to the ground with a single leg, working from half guard before allowing Moore to stand. However, during this sequence, the Brazilian landed an illegal knee to the head while Moore still had a knee on the ground. After reviewing the replay, the referee decided on a “hard warning” rather than a point deduction.
Another replay was needed in round two when Junior complained of a low blow. The video confirmed the knee was legal, and the action resumed. Junior connected with a good right hand before securing another single leg takedown, controlling the remainder of the round from half guard. Moore needed a finish in the third round and found some success against a visibly tired Junior, but he was unable to stop the Brazilian. Junior advanced via split decision.
Powell earned his place in the semifinals by dismantling Karl Albrektsson in the second round of their bout. Albrektsson had a better start, landing the cleaner shots, but Powell caught his attention in the final seconds with effective elbows from the clinch. Powell immediately returned to the clinch and elbows in the second round, overwhelming Albrektsson for a knockout victory.
The co-main event at PFL 4 featured a heavyweight quarterfinal clash between former interim Bellator champion Valentin Moldavsky and fellow Russian Sergey Bilostenniy. Aside from a quick pause in the opening round when the arena lights went out mid-fight, Moldavsky and Bilostenniy maintained a surprisingly high pace for heavyweights.
Moldavsky briefly hurt Bilostenniy on the feet and rushed for a finish, but got tagged in return, becoming hurt himself. Bilostenniy fired a series of punches but couldn`t secure the stoppage. The stand-up battle continued into the second round. In the third round, Moldavsky changed his strategy, opting to clinch but neither landing powerful strikes nor pursuing a takedown. The fight went the distance, with all three judges scoring it 29-28 in favor of Moldavsky.
Moldavsky will now face Alexandr Romanov in the semifinal. Romanov quickly defeated fellow UFC veteran Tim Johnson. While exchanging on the feet, Johnson was caught in a standing guillotine choke by Romanov. Romanov held the position, drove Johnson against the cage, and literally lifted him off the ground, forcing a quick tap. This marked Romanov`s 11th professional submission victory.
On the opposite side of the heavyweight tournament bracket, fellow UFC veteran Rodrigo Nascimento advanced to the semifinals after a tough fight, where he will now face Oleg Popov.
Abraham Bably dominated the opening round against Nascimento with heavy punches and effective body attacks in the clinch. Bably`s pace slowed in the second and third rounds, although blood was still pouring from Nascimento’s nose. Nascimento, however, landed more effective punches over the duration of the fight, earning the nod on two of the three scorecards.
Popov wrestled his way into the semifinals against Karl Williams. He spent the first round attempting takedowns, finally managing to put Williams down in the final seconds. Williams had more success defending the shots in the second round but struggled to stay free from Popov`s grappling threats in the final 10 minutes. Although Williams landed the better strikes, the judges awarded Popov a split decision victory, improving his professional record to 20-2.
Duncan Priestley