Phil Davis vs Razr Rob Wilkinson: Light Heavyweight Showdown

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00:00Light heavyweight, Thursday, May 1st.

00:03Now you're gonna have a matchup there between Phil,

00:05Mr. Wonderful Davis, and Razor Rob Wilkinson.

00:08We talked to Phil Davis a couple weeks ago

00:09when it was announced that he was part of this tournament

00:11before we found out who he was fighting.

00:12I mean, this is a tough fight for him,

00:14right out of the gates.

00:14One of the biggest names, obviously, in the tournament

00:16is Phil Davis.

00:17You've known him from all his time,

00:18the UFC and Bellator, the former Division I wrestler

00:20back at Penn State, 24 and seven, at 40 years old.

00:23The American has wins over Yoel Romero,

00:26Lyoto Machida, Lynn Vasso, Clover Teixeira,

00:29Little Noguera, Alexander Gustafson,

00:31and Glover Teixeira.

00:31I mean, pretty much everybody that you have heard about

00:35in the light heavyweight division

00:36over the last 15 years or so in the UFC

00:39or in MMA in general,

00:40this guy's fought them and beaten a lot of them.

00:42So, you know, he has a wealth of experience,

00:44but also, of course, all the miles

00:46of having those different fights.

00:48Most of his fights go the distance.

00:4913 wins, all seven losses also go in the distance.

00:53So, out of 24 wins, 13 have gone all the way.

00:56Seven of his losses, of his seven losses,

00:58have gone all the way.

00:59So, expect it to go into deep waters for him

01:01anytime he's in the cage,

01:02not looking to take the big swings to get the finish.

01:05He's looking to survive and win.

01:06He's gonna go against Wilkinson,

01:07the 33-year-old Australian who has experience

01:09in the UFC and PFL, 19 and three,

01:11with no, no, won no contests in his career.

01:14He was a 2022 light heavyweight tournament champion

01:17for the PFL with losses to guys like Israel Adesanya

01:19early in his career,

01:20and Yak Shemirodov last year in the semis.

01:23He's got 10 wins by KO, seven by submission.

01:25So, he's well-rounded.

01:26He can finish his fight any which way.

01:28It's gonna be really who controls their style,

01:30who imposes their will.

01:31Will it be a guy like Wilkinson getting on the top

01:33and raining down shots and trying to get the finish,

01:35or will it be a guy like Phil Davis getting the takedowns

01:39and being able to control from the top

01:40and negate his opponent's advantage

01:43where he has in striking and submissions?

01:45That will remain to be seen.

01:46I mean, I love Phil Davis.

01:47He's been around for a long time,

01:48but I would have to lean towards Wilkinson

01:50probably with the youth.

01:52I know, obviously, more experience

01:54on the other side of that fight,

01:55but still a guy who is a good champion,

01:58a guy who has different ways to finish you.

02:00Wilkinson might be the play on that one.

02:02We also have Sullivan Cauley versus Marcelo Nunez.

02:05Cauley, the 28-year-old from America,

02:06six and one so far in his career,

02:08five by KO, TKO of his wins.

02:10All his pro fights have been with Bellator.

02:12He last fought August 2023.

02:14Nunez, a 36-year-old Brazilian, 11 and two,

02:17eight wins by submission of those 11,

02:19former World Series of Fighting and PFL fighter,

02:21won his last two fights and six of his last seven.

02:24They got a young guy coming in here,

02:26trying to make a name for himself

02:27against an aging veteran here in Nunez, 36.

02:31I think that, again, this is all about how this fight goes.

02:35What style is it fought in?

02:36If it ends up on the ground,

02:37Nunez is going to destroy his opponent.

02:40If Cauley is able to stop the takedowns,

02:42keep it on the feet, and pick his opponent apart,

02:44then it's his game plan, it's his world,

02:46and we'll see if he can get the finish.

02:48I gotta lean towards Nunez right now

02:49because of the experience factor,

02:51but we'll see if Cauley can pull an upset

02:53and start to make a name for himself early in this tournament.

02:56You also have Antonio Carlos Jr. versus Carl Moore.

02:59Carlos Jr., the 35-year-old Brazilian, 16 and six,

03:01two no contests, a world champion grappler

03:04with 12 of his 16 wins by submission.

03:07Former UFC fighter, won the 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight

03:09tournament, six and no, and one no contest in three years

03:12before a loss in last June's fight against Alex Pelessy.

03:17He has wins over guys like Tom Lawler, Tim Bosh,

03:18Jack Marshman, Marvin Vittori,

03:20so he's got some big names on his record,

03:22been around for a while.

03:23Moore, the 33-year-old from Ireland, is 12 and three,

03:26a former Bellator fighter, was on a four-fight win streak

03:28before he lost to Corey Anderson last March

03:30by decision trying to fight for that title,

03:32so both these guys have championship experience.

03:35Which one are you gonna go with?

03:37Not much of an age difference here

03:38as you had in the last fight,

03:39so I'm gonna go with Carlos Jr.,

03:40probably taking it to the mat and submitting his opponent.

03:43Carl Obrekson versus Simeon Powell.

03:45Obrekson, the 31-year-old from Sweden, 14 and six,

03:49in his MMA career, seven wins by KO,

03:50a former Rizin and Bellator fighter,

03:52lost three of his last four.

03:54Got wins over guys like Yakshamiradov and Vadim Nemkov,

03:56Nemkov was nine years ago,

03:58but lost to Tim Moldavsky, Yuri Prozhokha,

04:02Phil Davis, and Carl Moore,

04:03so lost to a couple guys in this tournament,

04:05lost to a couple guys when he was fighting

04:06in heavier weight classes.

04:08Going against the younger Powell,

04:09a 26-year-old from England who's 10 and one,

04:11four KOs, three submissions, three decisions,

04:13former PFL fighter can beat you any which way,

04:16but can he do it here against his older opponent,

04:19more experienced opponent?

04:21He won his first fight before he lost in December of 2023,

04:24so 10 fights in a row,

04:25now coming off his first loss a couple years ago,

04:26his first loss, how does he rebound with that

04:29against an experienced opponent?

04:30Heavyweight, May 1st, also on that card.

04:33Valentin Moldavsky, we just talked about,

04:34versus Sergei Vyolostyany.

04:37Moldavsky, the 33-year-old Russian, 13 and four,

04:39with one no contest, eight wins by decision.

04:41He's going for the long haul.

04:42Former intern Bellator heavyweight champion,

04:44started his career 11 and one,

04:46then lost two of his last four to Linton Vassil.

04:49His opponent is 29-year-old Russian, 13 and three,

04:51eight by KO of his victories,

04:53two fights each with the PFL and Bellator,

04:55so a lot more experience for Moldavsky.

04:58I'd probably lean a little bit that way,

04:59even though he has not fared as well

05:01as he would like to recently.

05:02Alexander Romanov versus Tim Johnson

05:05is another matchup.

05:05Romanov, the 34-year-old from Moldovia, 18 and three.

05:09Ten wins by submission, former UFC fighter.

05:11Johnson, also a former UFC fighter,

05:13the 40-year-old American, has fought in UFC,

05:16Bellator, and the PFL, 18 and 11 for his career,

05:20but not a stellar record.

05:21Ten wins, six losses, all by KO, TKO,

05:23so a lot of feasts or famine for this heavyweight,

05:25as you tend to have with a lot of heavyweights.

05:27A lot of the big boys swing for the fences at times.

05:29Coming off a loss to Vadim Nemkov,

05:31a rear naked choke back in January.

05:33They jumped in on a late nose replacement.

05:36Lost to Dennis Foltzall by first round,

05:38ground and pound last August,

05:39in the playoffs for the PFL,

05:40so on a two-fight loss streak.

05:43Been around for a while, very experienced,

05:44but now I have to go with Romanov,

05:46because we've seen Tim Johnson,

05:48as we saw in the Nemkov fight,

05:49if he gets taken down, it's gonna be a big problem for him,

05:52despite having some wins there himself.

05:55Just not an area that he is deemed

05:57to be strong at against his opponents,

06:00so I'm gonna go with the Moldovian.

06:02You also have Payor Romani versus Abraham Babley.

06:05Romani, 32-year-old from Iran,

06:07now living in the UAE, three and O,

06:09making his major promotion debut

06:10as a big social media presence.

06:12This is a big step up for him against a guy like Babley.

06:1429-year-old from England, who's five and one.

06:16Three wins by KO, two by decision,

06:17fought for the PFL and Bellator.

06:19Just had his first loss, full decision loss, last November.

06:22How does he rebound?

06:23Can he take out the rising star

06:25and the guy looking to make a name

06:26even bigger for himself in Romani?

06:28And then Lin Vassil versus Oleg Popov.

06:30Vassil, 41-year-old from England,

06:3224 and 10 in his career, the former Bellator fighter.

06:34Popov, the 33-year-old Russian, 19 and two.

06:372024 heavyweight title runner-up for the PFL.

06:40Yelling towards Popov,

06:41Vassil, does he have one more run in him?

06:43Late in his career, we'll see,

06:44but Popov showing how tough he is

06:46when he went through that tournament last year,

06:48beating Lin Vassil in the semis.

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