The Bellator cage in back in San Jose this weekend with a big light heavyweight main event while MMASucka provides Bellator 266 results throughout the day. In the main event, former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero finally makes his highly anticipated Bellator debut. Romero was originally scheduled to do so earlier this year as he was set to face Anthony Johnson in the opening round of the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix. However, Romero was unable to pass his medicals and as a result was unable to fight. Now, Romero is scheduled to make his Bellator debut against former Bellator light heavyweight champion Phil Davis.
Bellator 266 Results – Main Event
Phil Davis has spent basically his entire career in the big leagues as he made his UFC debut at 4-0. He was with the UFC for about five years before going to Bellator. His first outing as a Bellator fighter saw Davis pick up two wins in one night at Bellator 142: Dynamite 1 to win the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix. The win set up a title eliminator fight with Muhammed Lawal in his next fight. Davis won his third straight that night, defeating Lawal by unanimous decision to set up a title fight with Liam McGeary. In just his fourth Bellator fight, Phil Davis had already become their light heavyweight champion as he defeated McGeary by unanimous decision.
Davis lost his belt in the next fight as he suffered a split decision loss to Ryan Bader. Since then, Davis has gone 5-2 with multiple finishes. Over that time, he had picked up KO/TKO wins against Linton Vassell, Karl Albrektsson, and for a second win over McGeary. The only man to beat him since his title loss was Vadim Nemkov who picked up a split decision win in their first matchup. Their last matchup was Davis’ most recent outing and it was for the title as Nemkov defeated Bader following his last win over Davis. In the opening round of the current Grand Prix, Davis suffered another loss to Nemkov, this time by unanimous decision.
Taking on Phil Davis at Bellator 266 will be former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero. For Romero, this will be his first fight in over a year as he has not fought since May 2020. He brings into the fight with him a three fight losing streak from his final fights in the octagon. Romero’s last win was in 2018 when he finished former UFC champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 221.
Following that win, Romero got a title shot and a rematch against Robert Whittaker at UFC 225. After a very close fight, Whittaker would get the win. Romero then went on to fight Paulo Costa at UFC 241 and fought another close fight but lost again. Regardless, he still got another title fight with Israel Adesanya after that win. After a very uneventful fight, Adesanya would walk away with the unanimous decision win. Now, Romero looks to make it a fresh start in a new organization and a new weight class as he makes his Bellator debut.
Bellator 266 Results – Co-Main Event
The co-main event of the night features a welterweight matchup between jiu jitsu specialist Neiman Gracie and Mark Lemminger. Sitting at number three in Bellator’s welterweight rankings, Gracie has spent almost his entire career with Bellator. He made his debut in 2015 at just 2-0 as he submitted Bobby Flynn in the first round at Bellator 134. After that, he put together six straight wins including five straight submissions and one unanimous decision.
Eventually, his undefeated record would be ruined when he met up with Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald. In the semi-finals of Bellator’s Welterweight Grand Prix, MacDonald handed Gracie his first pro loss, defeating him by unanimous decision. Following the loss, Gracie has gone 1-1 in his last two fights. He was out of action with an injury for about a whole year after the loss. When he returned, he picked up a submission win over Jon Fitch at Bellator 246. In his most recent outing, Gracie suffered another setback as this time, Jason Jackson defeated him by unanimous decision at Bellator 255 in April.
Coming into the fight with a record of 12-3, Mark Lemminger looks to pick up the biggest win of his Bellator career on Saturday. Lemminger has been with Bellator since only last year as he made his debut in July 2020. He picked up a win in his debut as he finished Jake Smith by second round TKO. However, following that fight, Lemminger lost his next two straight outings. The first was a TKO loss to Yaroslav Amosov, followed by a unanimous decision loss against Jaleel Williams. Lemminger most recently fought in June as he snapped the losing streak and picked up a TKO win over Demarques Jackson.
Bellator 266 Results – Main Card
Kicking off the main card will be a fight in the light heavyweight division as Christian Edwards takes on Ben Parrish. Edwards enters the fight with a 5-0 record as he is coming off a unanimous decision win over Simon Biyong at Bellator 261. As for Parrish, he enters the fight with a 4-1 record as he makes his Bellator debut. He began his career 4-0 before suffering a TKO loss to Logan Woods in his most recent fight.
Following that fight will be a matchup in the lightweight division as Georgi Karakhanyan faces Saul Rogers. Karakhanyan has been fighting since 2006 as he enters the fight with a record of 31-11-1, 1NC. He enters the fight having won his last two straight as he picked up a split decision win over Bryce Logan followed by a TKO win over Kiefer Crosbie in his last fight. Rogers enters the fight with a record of 14-4 as he comes off of a recent submission loss to Mads Burnell at Bellator 257.
Finally, before the co-main event will be a fight in the women’s flyweight division as Alejandra Lara takes on DeAnna Bennett. Lara will be entering the fight with a record of 9-4 as she suffered a split decision loss in her last outing. As for Bennett, she is still looking for her first win as a Bellator fighter as she enters the fight on a three fight losing streak.
Bellator 266 Results
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Follow along with MMASucka as we provide you with Bellator 266 Results throughout the card.
MAIN CARD (Showtime – 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT)
Phil Davis def. Yoel Romero via Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-26)
Neiman Gracie def. Mark Lemminger via TKO (Punches) at 1:27 of Round One
DeAnna Bennett* def. Alejandra Lara via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Saul Rogers def. Georgi Karakhanyan via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Ben Parrish def. Christian Edwards via Knockout (Punches) at 0:38 of Round One
PRELIMINARY CARD (Bellator on Youtube – 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT)
Alex Polizzi def. Grant Neal via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Anthony Adams def. Khalid Murtazaliev via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bobby Seronio III def. Socrates Hernandez via Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-26, 29-26)
Abraham Vaesau def. Albert Gonzalez via Knockout (Punches) at 2:17 of Round One
Shane Keefe def. Rhalan Gracie via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Edwin De Los Santos def. Jon Adams via TKO (Strikes) at 3:29 of Round One
Jesse Delgado def. Joshua Dillon via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
*Bennett missed weight at 129.2 pounds
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