Bellator 163: McGeary vs. DavisNov 5, 2016 by Jim Edwards
Bellator 163 Recap: Phil Davis Humble, Coker Teases Huge Announcement
Bellator 163 Recap: Phil Davis Humble, Coker Teases Huge Announcement
Bellator 163 brought something for everyone. Read the full recap—including a tease from Scott Coker—here.
It was a breathless night at Bellator 163.
Viewers were treated to vicious knockouts, slick submissions, and even Scott Coker leaving us all on a cliffhanger regarding the Bellator MMA heavyweight title. What a tease. Let's break down exactly what went down at the event—and what it means for the future.
Liam McGeary promises to return better than ever
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great night for everyone. British light heavyweight Liam McGeary lost both his undefeated streak and his Bellator light heavyweight title last evening. Following the defeat, he was in a reflective mood come the post-fight press conference.
“Everyone said about the wrestling,” McGeary said. “It wasn't my day, but I've had about a year off, and it was hard to have that year off, not compete and not fight. Phil, congratulations to him. He's done what he did and he beat me on my bad day. He had a good day, you know, but you couldn't knock me out, you couldn’t finish me, so I'll definitely be back
“I took everything you had, and I’ll learn from all my mistakes, you know? I’m still young in this sport, 11-0, well, 11-1 now. It's all a learning curve. You win some, you lose some, and I’m definitely going to take this loss, review it and learn from all of my mistakes and get down on that wrestling mat again.”
New champ Phil Davis humble and grateful
Phil Davis, the man who defeated McGeary via unanimous decision, had nothing but praise for the fallen champion who he said really put him to test.
“Just getting ready for a guy like Liam is incredibly tough,” Davis said. “He’s got a skillset that’s incredibly tough and very few people have. We had to dig deep into the MMA world and find some grapplers with his kind of length and his particular skill set to throw up triangles from anywhere. We watched a lot of tape and did a lot of study for what he actually he does.
“It still didn’t really prepare me for the way he’s able to move underneath me. Hats off to the guy. I feel like I really had to elevate my game to be prepared for his level of grappling. I’m just happy.”
Speaking as one of the first big names to move across from the UFC, Davis then spoke about his pride for being one of the first men to take the jump over to Bellator MMA.
“I really take pride being one of the first people to be willing to be a free agent, fight out my contract and come to Bellator and not only realize the grass is greener but that it’s just less stressful,” Davis said. “I love the opportunities I have here, not only working with Scott Coker, but also working with Viacom and Spike, they’re both great companies.
“It’s just all these things and I get to the point where I’m like, man, it’s silly not to. There are tough world champions in Bellator and as soon as you follow and watch closely to see who’s here and who winds you’ll know this is a stacked league.”
Coker teases a massive heavyweight announcement
Bellator MMA president Scott Coker then ended the press conference with a big cliffhanger, implying that the promotion would have a big announcement to make in early 2017.
“You know I actually have the answer to that, but I can’t tell you,” Coker said when asked about the heavyweight landscape. “So, we have mapped something out and we will announce it in the first part of the new year, but I think we have something really exciting for our heavyweight title.”
Viewers were treated to vicious knockouts, slick submissions, and even Scott Coker leaving us all on a cliffhanger regarding the Bellator MMA heavyweight title. What a tease. Let's break down exactly what went down at the event—and what it means for the future.
Liam McGeary promises to return better than ever
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great night for everyone. British light heavyweight Liam McGeary lost both his undefeated streak and his Bellator light heavyweight title last evening. Following the defeat, he was in a reflective mood come the post-fight press conference.
“Everyone said about the wrestling,” McGeary said. “It wasn't my day, but I've had about a year off, and it was hard to have that year off, not compete and not fight. Phil, congratulations to him. He's done what he did and he beat me on my bad day. He had a good day, you know, but you couldn't knock me out, you couldn’t finish me, so I'll definitely be back
“I took everything you had, and I’ll learn from all my mistakes, you know? I’m still young in this sport, 11-0, well, 11-1 now. It's all a learning curve. You win some, you lose some, and I’m definitely going to take this loss, review it and learn from all of my mistakes and get down on that wrestling mat again.”
New champ Phil Davis humble and grateful
Phil Davis, the man who defeated McGeary via unanimous decision, had nothing but praise for the fallen champion who he said really put him to test.
“Just getting ready for a guy like Liam is incredibly tough,” Davis said. “He’s got a skillset that’s incredibly tough and very few people have. We had to dig deep into the MMA world and find some grapplers with his kind of length and his particular skill set to throw up triangles from anywhere. We watched a lot of tape and did a lot of study for what he actually he does.
“It still didn’t really prepare me for the way he’s able to move underneath me. Hats off to the guy. I feel like I really had to elevate my game to be prepared for his level of grappling. I’m just happy.”
Speaking as one of the first big names to move across from the UFC, Davis then spoke about his pride for being one of the first men to take the jump over to Bellator MMA.
“I really take pride being one of the first people to be willing to be a free agent, fight out my contract and come to Bellator and not only realize the grass is greener but that it’s just less stressful,” Davis said. “I love the opportunities I have here, not only working with Scott Coker, but also working with Viacom and Spike, they’re both great companies.
“It’s just all these things and I get to the point where I’m like, man, it’s silly not to. There are tough world champions in Bellator and as soon as you follow and watch closely to see who’s here and who winds you’ll know this is a stacked league.”
Coker teases a massive heavyweight announcement
Bellator MMA president Scott Coker then ended the press conference with a big cliffhanger, implying that the promotion would have a big announcement to make in early 2017.
“You know I actually have the answer to that, but I can’t tell you,” Coker said when asked about the heavyweight landscape. “So, we have mapped something out and we will announce it in the first part of the new year, but I think we have something really exciting for our heavyweight title.”