| Bellator 266: Davis vs. Romero | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for Bellator 266: Davis vs. Romero | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Bellator MMA | |||
| Date | September 18, 2021 | |||
| Venue | SAP Center | |||
| City | San Jose, California, United States | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Bellator 266: Davis vs. Romero was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on September 18, 2021, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, United States. [1] [2]
Former UFC middleweight title contender Yoel Romero made his Bellator debut against Phil Davis, another former UFC contender, at this event. Romero, 44, was slated to debut for the promotion in the first round of their light heavyweight tournament against Anthony Johnson in May, but was forced to withdraw due to a medical issue concerning his eye. [3]
The co-main event featured a bout between #4 ranked Welterweight Neiman Gracie and Mark Lemminger. [4]
A women's flyweight bout between Alejandra Lara and DeAnna Bennett was scheduled for Bellator 263. [5] The bout was rescheduled for unknown reasons to take place at Bellator 265. [6] On August 13, it was announced that the bout was moved once again, this time to this event. [7]
A lightweight bout between Adam Piccolotti and Saul Rogers was scheduled for this event. [8] However, Piccolotti pulled out of the bout due to unknown reasons and was replaced by Georgi Karakhanyan. [9]
Bantamweight bouts between Socrates Hernandez and Pedro Juarez and Erik Gunha versus Bobby Soronio III were scheduled for the event; however Juarez and Gunha pulled out their respective bouts so Hernandez and Soronio III instead faced each other. [10]
Eddie Abasolo was scheduled to face Art Hernandez in a 160 pounds catchweight bout, but Hernandez did not make weight. Therefore, Abasolo did not weigh in and the bout was scrapped. [10]
At the weigh-ins, DeAnna Bennett missed weight for her bout. Bennett weighed in at 129.2 pounds, 3.2 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Bennett was fined a percentage of her purse which went to her opponent Alejandra Lara. [10]
| Main Card (Showtime) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Light Heavyweight | Phil Davis | def. | Yoel Romero | Decision (split) (30–27, 28–29, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Neiman Gracie | def. | Mark Lemminger | TKO (elbows and punches) | 1 | 1:27 | |
| Catchweight (129.2 lb) | DeAnna Bennett | def. | Alejandra Lara | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–26, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Lightweight | Saul Rogers | def. | Georgi Karakhanyan | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–26, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Ben Parrish | def. | Christian Edwards | KO (punches) | 1 | 0:38 | |
| Preliminary card (Youtube/Pluto TV) | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Alex Polizzi | def. | Grant Neal | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Anthony Adams | def. | Khalid Murtazaliev | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Bobby Seronio III | def. | Socrates Hernandez | Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–26, 29–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (175 lb) | Abraham Vaesau | def. | Albert Gonzales | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:17 | |
| Welterweight | Shane Keefe | def. | Rhalan Gracie | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Edwin De Los Santos | def. | Jon Adams | TKO (body kick and punches) | 1 | 3:29 | |
| Catchweight (130 lb) | Jesse Delgado | def. | Joshua Dillon | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It is important to note the amounts do not include sponsor money, discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings. The total disclosed payout for the event was $778,800. [12]
MAIN CARD (10 p.m. E.T., Showtime)
PRELIMS (7 p.m. E.T., YouTube/PlutoTV)
Yoel Romero Palacio is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and was a challenger for the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Phil Kwabina Davis is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes as a Light Heavyweight for Bellator MMA, where he is the former Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion. Prior to signing with Bellator, Davis competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he achieved success as a top 5 Light Heavyweight contender and held a UFC record of 9–3 (1). He is currently ranked as the #7 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world by ranking site Fight Matrix. Davis first gained athletic notoriety in college as a wrestler for Penn State University, where he became an NCAA Division I champion in 2008.
Georgi Karakhanyan is a Russian-born Armenian-American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Karakhanyan has competed for the Bellator MMA, Absolute Championship Berkut, World Series of Fighting, DREAM, Tachi Palace Fights, and King of the Cage. Karakhanyan is also the former WSOF Featherweight Champion.
Neiman Gracie Stambowsky is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. A two-time Pan-American champion in coloured belts, Gracie medalled at the 2013 black belt World No-Gi Championship before transitioning to MMA competing in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. Gracie has also previously fought for the World Series of Fighting.
Goiti Yamauchi is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division for Bellator MMA.
DeAnna Danielle Bennett is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division in Bellator.
Adam Piccolotti is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL).
Vadim Aleksandrovich Nemkov is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and a four-time Combat Sambo World Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of Bellator, where he is the former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion. Nemkov is the younger brother of Viktor Nemkov and is a protégé of the MMA Heavyweight and Sambo master Fedor Emelianenko. He is ranked #1 in the 205 division by sherdog.
Alejandra Lara is a Colombian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. She had previously most notably competed in Bellator MMA,, where she was a title contender.She is also known by the nickname "Azul".
2021 in Bellator MMA was the thirteenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 18 events in 2021.
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