PFL 4 results: Phil Davis stops Rob Wilkinson for first knockout win in over 5 years

05/02/2025 12:12 AM

Phil Davis returned to the winning column at PFL 4 on Thursday night, and this time with a knockout.

The former Bellator champion scored his first finish since October 2019 by beating Rob Wilkinson in the first round of the promotion's 205-pound tournament.

Davis opened things up with a one-two combo followed by a body kick, threatening with a takedown as soon as Wilkinson rushed forward. Wilkinson stunned Davis late in round one with a right hand, but Davis went back for the second round looking to make him pay for it.

"Mr. Wonderful" connected a right hand that had Wilkinson back up momentarily, and Davis doubled it up with another hand that dropped the former PFL champion. Davis kept raining down punches until the referee had seen enough, ending the fight a minute into the second round for Davis' first knockout since stopping Karl Albrektsson at Bellator 231 on Oct. 25, 2019.

Davis will face Sullivan Cauley in the semifinal match next, after "Sully" finished last-minute replacement Alex Polizzi. Polizzi, who replaced Marcelo Nunes on the day of the fight, immediately shot for a takedown. Polizzi insisted on the position against the cage for so long it opened a window for Cauley to drop vicious elbows to the side of the head for the TKO stoppage in just 96 seconds.

On the other side of the light heavyweight bracket, one-time PFL season champion Antonio Carlos Junior advanced to take on Simeon Powell in the second semifinal contest.

"Shoeface" wasted no time getting Karl Moore on the ground with a single leg and worked from half guard before allowing Moore to get back up. Before he did so, however, the Brazilian landed an illegal knee to the head when Moore still had a knee on the ground. After watching the replay, the referee decided for a "hard warning" instead of a point deduction.

The replay was also needed in round two, after Junior complained of a low blow. The video showed the knee was legal, and action resumed. Junior connected a good right hand before securing another single leg takedown, working on half guard for the remaining of the round. Moore needed the finish in the third, and had some success against an exhausted Junior, but wasn't able to stop the Brazilian. In the end, Junior advanced via split decision.

Powell earned his semifinal place by dismantling Karl Albrektsson in the second round of their bout. Albrektsson had a better start in the match, connecting the better shots, but Powell had his attention in the final seconds with good elbows from the clinch. Round two started and Powell went back to the elbows in the clinch, destroying Albrektsson for a knockout win.

Heavyweight semifinals set with Valentin Moldavsky, Alexandr Romanov

The co-main event of PFL 4 featured a heavyweight quarterfinal clash between former interim Bellator champion Valentin Moldavsky and fellow Russian Sergey Bilostenniy. Aside from a quick pause in the opening round when the lights went out mid-fight, Moldavsky and Bilostenniy put on a crazy pace for heavyweights.

Moldavsky had Bilostenniy briefly hurt on the feet and rushed for the finish, getting tagged almost immediately. Moldavsky was hurt, and Bilostenniy fired a series of punches that couldn't get the job done. The stand-up battle continued in round two, but Moldavsky changed the gameplan for the final five minutes, choosing to clinch but not land powerful strikes nor pursue a takedown. They went the distance, and all three judges scored it 29-28 in favor of Moldavsky.

Moldavsky will now take on Alexandr Romanov in the semifinal after the Moldova native beat Tim Johnson quickly in a battle of UFC veterans. The heavyweight duo was exchanging on the feet when Johnson was trapped with a standing guillotine choke. Romanov held the position, and put Johnson against the cage, literally lifting him off the ground for a quick tap, his 11th submission victory as a professional.

On the opposite side of the heavyweight tournament fiels, fellow UFC veteran Rodrigo Nascimento dug deep in his PFL debut to advance to the semifinals, where he now faces Oleg Popov.

Abraham Bably dominated the opening round against Nascimento with heavy punches that caught the Brazilian's attention, attacking the body in the clinch. Bably slowed down the pace in the second and third but still had blood pouring from Nascimento's nose. Nascimento, however, connected more effective punches to get the nod in two of the three scorecards.

Popov wrestled his way to the semifinals against Karl Williams, spending the first round working on takedowns attempts but only managing to put Williams down in the final seconds. Williams had more success defending the shots in the next round, but struggled staying free from the threats in the final 10 minutes. Williams connected the better strikes, but the judges declared Popov the winner via split decision to go 20-2 as a professional.

Click here for complete PFL 4 results.