Yoel Romero vs Phil Davis: One punch is all Solider of God needs

On the night of September 18 to 19, former league champion Phil Davis will face MMA living legend Yoel Romero at Bellator 266. There is no favorite in this fight.

The numbers in Soldier of God’s record may seem a little upsetting: 4 losses in 5 fights. On the other hand, his opponents were the toughest fighters in the toughest league in the world, and four of those five fights were title fights, and not even once here did he lose early.

The 44-year-old American fighter has 13 wins (11 by knockout) and 5 losses (1 by knockout) in his overall pro record.

Romero is making his debut at Bellator in a new weight class at once. He made the most of his physical power in the middleweight division, but it doesn’t mean that he will have that advantage in the welterweight division. His other weaknesses are the downtime of more than a year as well as his age. Speaking of age, though, Romero is a late bloomer, so there’s still time to fight at his best while 44 years old. And as for downtime, he used to fight once a year before, so it’s not news for him.

But who’s gonna tell about the fighter more than his current opponent?

"Yoel is a hard guy to prepare for anyway. He's strong, very explosive, but the hardest part is reading his moves, timing, and distance quickly. I think he's going to fight on the ground, I doubt he's going to get into wrestling. Despite his wrestling background, he doesn't use it much. He always seems to be aiming for the knockout. I know I'm a versatile fighter, it's hard to tire me out and I can make the fight hard for Yoel. I take punches well and I have the footwork, I can break the distance."

Phil Davis

Davis is one of the top Bellator fighters, well, in the world MMA, actually. And he’s always in great form.

His weak spots are hard to find, he's a versatile fighter, but some still managed to do it:

The 36-year-old American fighter has 23 wins (7 KOs, 5 TKOs) and 6 losses (all by decision) in his pro record.

It’s not that hard to guess how the fight will go. Romero will try to knock his opponent out, while Davis will try to keep his distance long. If I were asked who is better prepared technically and physically, I'd say Davis. But in this particular fight, I think it’s better to be on Romero. He's more charged than ever, having missed the fights badly and thought over his past mistakes, fully recovered, the fighter is embarking on a new path in a new league. That kind of Romero is scary.

Phil is going to win the fight on points, but it’ll take Romero one punch to decide the outcome.

Bookmakers do not have a clear favorite here. 1xbet offers odds of 2.04 for Romero’s victory, and 1.72 for Phil Davis to win. As you can see, they are pretty close.