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Bellator 163: 'McGeary vs Davis' recap, results, .gifs and video highlights

Bellator 163 'McGeary vs Davis' took place last night (Fri., Nov. 4, 2016) at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. MMA Mania brings you a post-fight recap, results, .gifs and interview highlights featuring Liam McGeary vs. Phil Davis in the main event!

By stevejuon
Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

Bellator 163: "McGeary vs. Davis" came to Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn, last night (Fri., Nov. 4, 2016) live on Spike TV. The card was headlined by a world title fight at light heavyweight.

Undefeated champion Liam McGeary looked to make his first title defense in a year since tapping out Tito Ortiz. "Mr. Wonderful" Phil Davis earned the right to face him the same night McGeary was last in action, and even defended the title shot he earned in the interim, so his time had finally come.

The most surprising thing about this long-awaited fight was just how one sided it was. McGeary never landed a shot that rocked Davis. McGeary never had a submission attempt that put Davis in danger. McGeary was able to thwart a few takedowns early but as the fight wore he was unable to keep it standing, and the riding time reached levels where McGeary would need a lucky punch to turn things around.

That punch never came and Davis pitched a 50-43, 50-45, 50-44 shutout on the judges' scorecards to become the new Bellator 205-pound champion.

Jimmy Smith spoke to "Mr. Wonderful" after the win.

"It feels great. I just want to thank God and thank all my friends here and around the world that are praying for me. I absolutely love you guys, I can't do this without you. When you have a good jiu-jitsu fighter the hardest thing is passing that guard. That was key in my training camp was beating that first move to the ground. This guy is an amazing grappler. That man is a great fighter, he's also a really cool guy."

McGeary spoke to Jimmy Smith as well.

"It's gutting isn't it? I lost my belt to a wrestler -- Phil Davis does what Phil Davis does. I was unfortunate to get caught in the traps. I'll definitely be back, rest assured. I'm not going to let that one slip by. I'll come back and I'll be fighting back for that belt -- hopefully it's against him."

Bellator lined up local favorite "Irish Bad Boy" Brennan Ward against the first man to knock out Will Brooks in Saad Awad, and the hometown hero wanted to go toe-to-toe and see who hits harder. When Awad stopped covering up against the fence and tried to oblige, he was caught by a left hook that knocked him out at 1:26.

The colorful Ward, who started the bout with a "f--k yeah" during fighter instructions, had more to say when Jimmy Smith put the mic in front of him after the fight.

"Yeah man you know me and Saad, we fought on the same card back in 2011, 2012. Guys like us we're around for so long for a reason, because we come out here and we throw down. We give the people what they want to see. He said 'Whassup bro, you wanna wrestle or you wanna bang?' I said 'Yo let's {censored} baby.' I do my thing, I fight anybody who they put in front of me. I don't call anybody out -- I never have I never will. Hey I'll fight anybody on any given night. My fans know that, my fans have my back. I love all you guys, thank you."

He had even more to say backstage.

A fighter with a famous last name met a fighter who was "Bad News" at a catchweight of 175 pounds -- Neiman Gracie vs. Rudy Bears was a late addition to the televised Bellator 163 card.

Bears was a journeyman fighter at 16-14 coming in, and he stays a journeyman fighter at 16-15 going out. The famous Gracie name shouldn't be an automatic guarantee of a submission win, but once it went to the ground the mismatch was obvious, as was Bears' arm popping out at 4:39 of the first round.

Jimmy Smith asked Gracie if his finish was the plan all along.

"Of course. My game plan is always Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. I'm really happy with this fight. Anything I do is thanks to that man, Renzo Gracie, my master. All my cousins, everybody, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, we're back -- we've always been here. Every fight I feel better and better -- just keep on going."

Heavyweight Pride star Sergei Kharitonov came to Connecticut to make his long awaited debut, but "Eye Candy" Javy Ayala stood in the way of him proving his merits in the Bellator cage.

Blink and you might have missed this fight. Kharitonov stuffed an early single leg attempt but Ayala clocked Kharitonov with a huge right hand and he fell like a mighty oak. Kharitonov was out cold before referee Dan Miragliotta got between them at 0:16 of R1. Ayala just waited for him to let the world know what he already knew.

Ayala spoke to Jimmy Smith after the huge upset win.

"Dude just like the song says 'It was all a dream.' This is a dream being here -- my dream's come true. I work hard. My cousin Joe Soto can't be here he's fighting tomorrow night, (thanks to) my wife for all the support, my kids I love you to death. Daddy's coming home tomorrow! Honestly dude I heard my coach call it out. He told me 'Crunch, crunch!' and I threw it. Boom -- there it landed! It feels good. Whoever they want me to fight -- they want me to fight Bobby (Lashley), they want me to fight (Matt) Mitrione, I'll take anybody -- I don't care."

This stunning and lighting fast upset necessitated filling some time on the live broadcast, so "The Bad Guy" Chael Sonnen and "Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz were brought to the cage.

Chael Sonnen spoke to Jimmy Smith first.

"For God's sake will somebody please tell Tito Ortiz his zipper is down. This is embarrassing! On January 21st Tito I'm not just going to beat you, I'm going to replace you, again."

Ortiz threw some barbs back his way before both men mean mugged for the cameras.

"This guy has his little rhymes and reasons, so as I say -- riddle me this, and riddle me that, because on January 21st, Chael Sonnen I'm going to whip your ass and that's a fact."

If you missed this week's Bellator 170 kickoff press conference for Ortiz vs. Sonnen, it looked a little something like this and sounded a little something like this.

Two preliminary bouts were added to the broadcast in the second hour to fill time. Ed Ruth and Dustin Collins-Miles both came in with no pro fights, but Ruth's place on the card merited a press release, so it wasn't surprising he made TV. The four time All-American got a TKO at 3:19 of R1.

The other man mentioned in the same press release was Tyrell Fortune, and he also made his pro debut against an inexperienced fighter in Cody Miskell. The big knees Fortune landed on the ground stopped the fight by TKO at 2:22 of R1.

These televised bouts were paired with exciting action that aired exclusively on Spike.com.

For complete Bellator 163 results and coverage click here.

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