Illustration by John Brannigan / Sherdog.com

Neither Phil Davis nor Anthony Smith are currently the hottest light heavyweight products, but both were successful in their businesses last Saturday night.

Davis took some of the shine from brilliant new promotional acquisition Yoel Romero to headlining the Bellator 266, winning a split decision at SAP Arena in San Jose, Calif. The result was not as close as the dissenting scorecard might indicate, as “Mr. Wonderful” got stronger as the fight progressed and drowned Romero with a superior fight in a third stanza. dominant.

Meanwhile, Smith claimed his third straight Octagon triumph in the main event of UFC Fight Night 192, as he subdued Ryan Spann with a choke in the back just 3:47 of their meeting. 205 pounds at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After being overwhelmed in back-to-back outings by Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic ​​in appearances in the 2020 main event, Smith has turned the ship around with wins over Spann, Jimmy Crute and Devin Clark.

For now, Davis maintains his No. 11 ranking, while Smith remains at No. 12 in Sherdog.com’s latest light heavyweight poll. However, with No.9 Thiago Santos’ fight against Johnny Walker on the horizon, there may be room for advancement if “Marreta” struggles in October.

Note: Previous ratings are shown in parentheses.

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