Phil Davis returned to the winner`s circle at PFL 4 on Thursday night in Atlantic City, securing a knockout victory.
The former Bellator light heavyweight champion secured his first finish since October 2019, stopping Rob Wilkinson early in their 205-pound tournament bout.
Davis initiated the fight with a jab-cross combination and a body kick, feinting a takedown when Wilkinson advanced. Wilkinson briefly rocked Davis with a right hand late in the first round, but Davis entered the second determined to retaliate.
“Mr. Wonderful” landed a significant right hand that initially forced Wilkinson back, then followed up with another powerful strike that dropped the former PFL champion. Davis continued with ground strikes until the referee halted the contest a minute into the second round. This marked Davis`s first knockout victory since his win over Karl Albrektsson at Bellator 231 in October 2019.
In the upcoming semifinal, Davis is set to face Sullivan Cauley, who advanced after stopping late replacement Alex Polizzi. Polizzi, stepping in for Marcelo Nunes on short notice, quickly attempted a takedown. His persistence in maintaining the position against the cage allowed Cauley to land brutal elbows to the side of the head, leading to a TKO stoppage just 96 seconds into the fight.
On the opposite side of the light heavyweight bracket, former PFL season champion Antonio Carlos Junior advanced to face Simeon Powell in the second semifinal.
“Shoeface” promptly secured a single-leg takedown on Karl Moore and worked from half guard before allowing Moore to return to his feet. However, during this transition, the Brazilian delivered an illegal knee to the head while Moore still had a knee on the mat. Following a replay review, the referee issued a “hard warning” rather than deducting a point.
Another replay was required in the second round when Junior claimed a low blow. The video confirmed the strike was legal, and the fight resumed. Junior landed a solid right hand before securing another single-leg takedown, spending the rest of the round in half guard. Moore pushed for a finish in the third round and found some success against a seemingly fatigued Junior, but couldn`t secure the stoppage. Junior ultimately advanced with a split decision victory.
Powell earned his semifinal spot by stopping Karl Albrektsson in the second round. Albrektsson started well, landing the more effective strikes, but Powell caught his attention with sharp elbows from the clinch late in the first. In the second round, Powell again utilized clinch elbows, overwhelming Albrektsson for a knockout victory.
The co-main event featured a heavyweight quarterfinal between former interim Bellator champion Valentin Moldavsky and fellow Russian Sergey Bilostenniy. Aside from a brief halt in the opening round due to a power outage, both heavyweights maintained an unexpectedly high pace.
Moldavsky briefly hurt Bilostenniy with strikes and attempted to finish, but was tagged in return and visibly hurt. Bilostenniy followed up with punches but couldn`t secure the finish. The striking exchange continued into the second round, but Moldavsky shifted tactics in the final round, opting for clinch control without pursuing significant strikes or takedowns. The fight went to the scorecards, where all three judges awarded Moldavsky a 29-28 victory.
Moldavsky will face Alexandr Romanov in the semifinal. Romanov, a native of Moldova, quickly defeated Tim Johnson in a matchup of UFC veterans. While exchanging strikes, Romanov secured a standing guillotine choke. He held the position, pressed Johnson against the cage, and lifted him off the canvas, forcing a quick tap for his 11th professional submission win.
On the other side of the heavyweight bracket, fellow UFC veteran Rodrigo Nascimento advanced to the semifinals in his PFL debut, where he is scheduled to meet Oleg Popov.
Abraham Bably controlled the first round against Nascimento with heavy punches and body work in the clinch. Bably`s pace slowed in the second and third rounds, although Nascimento continued to bleed from the nose. However, Nascimento landed more effective strikes down the stretch, earning the nod on two of the three judges` scorecards.
Popov secured his semifinal spot by out-wrestling Karl Williams. He attempted takedowns throughout the first round, finally succeeding in the closing seconds. Williams defended takedowns better in the second but struggled to stay clear of Popov`s pressure in the final two rounds. While Williams may have landed better strikes, the judges awarded Popov the split decision victory, improving his professional record to 20-2.
