Bellator 163 Results: Winners, Scorecards from McGeary vs. Davis Card

A packed night at Bellator 163 was expected to provide plenty of action even before title-holder Liam McGeary and challenger Phil Davis took center stage for the light heavyweight championship fight on Friday night from Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.  

However, two fights were pulled off the main card when Talita Nogueira didn't make weight, spoiling her matchup with Marloes Coenen, and Paul Daley was not medically cleared, which canceled his bout with Derek Anderson. 

In total, there were four fights on the main card, as we take a look at the results:

Undercard Results

• Vinicius de Jesus def. James Boran via submission (rear-naked choke)
• Carlos Correia def. Ilya Kotau via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
• Ed Ruth def. Dustin Collins-Miles via TKO (punches)
• Tyrell Fortune def. Cody Miskell via TKO (punches)
• Tyler King def. Josh Diekmann via submission (rear-naked choke)
• Tim Caron def. Steve Skrzat via TKO (punches)
• Hannah Regina Merullo def. Sarah Payant via submission (armbar)

Ayala Drops Kharitonov

Javy Ayala didn't take long to open the main card with fireworks on Friday. 

Just 16 seconds into the first round, Ayala unleashed a right-handed bomb to the face of Sergei Kharitonov to record the knockout and the win, via Bellator MMA:

Can't open up a show much better!! @Eyecandyayala ???? #Bellator163 pic.twitter.com/RH6trEpQyd

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 5, 2016

Ayala improves to 10-5 overall and 5-2 in Bellator, as Bloody Elbow was floored by the underdog's performance:

Holy Guacamole! Ayala just slept Kharitonov faster than I could spell his name! #bellator163

— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 5, 2016

For Kharitonov, it was an unceremonious Bellator debut as he dropped to 23-6. It was also his first loss in five years, which came at the hands of Josh Barnett. 

Gracie Armbars Bears

Following Ayala's knockout, the crowd grew restless when Rudy Bears and Neiman Gracie spent the first two minutes of the first round feeling each other out.

Instead of going for the fireworks, Gracie went for the submission, taking Bears to the floor and keeping him there for the following two-plus minutes. 

In an attempt to get out, Bears left himself open to an armbar, which is just what Gracie did before the end of the first round. Bears' shoulder popped and immediately tapped out, via Sherdog.com:

#Bellator163: Gracie def. Bears via @DvMandel pic.twitter.com/wR7JPH1Bi1

— Sherdog.com (@sherdogdotcom) November 5, 2016

Gracie improved to 5-0 in his career with four of those wins coming by submission, via the Spike telecast. 

Bears dropped to 16-15 and has lost eight of his last 11 matches. 

Another Quick Win for Ward 

Brennan Ward isn't one to have fights go the distance, and he played right into that theme in the co-main event, knocking out Saad Awad in the first round. 

Due to his aggressive nature, Ward had Awad pinned against the cage and began unloading punches to the head. 

For a moment, Awad kept both hands up in defense, but then he tried to punch his way out. After throwing two, he left himself open for Ward to land a left that knocked him to the floor, via Bellator:

.@SwaggleBerryFin in Connecticut = madness. ???? thrown for the hometown win #Bellator163 pic.twitter.com/wV9bYIL4eA

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 5, 2016

Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko was more than impressed with Ward:

brennan ward is a beast #bellator163 ??

— Jonas Jerebko (@JonasJerebko) November 5, 2016

Ward now sits at 13-4 in his career with just one of those fights going the distance. A big performance like that, though, sent a message to the elite welterweights that he is coming for them. 

Awad suffered the ninth loss of his career and his third in last four. 

Davis' Masterful Performance Wins Belt

While Ward and Awad went for punches, the main event between McGeary and Davis was expected to be a battle on the ground given Davis' prior experience as an NCAA national champion in wrestling. 

After Davis landed a hard left, McGeary conceded the takedown with 2:41 left in the first round, setting the tone for the rest of the night. With 1:16 left, McGeary rolled out of it, though it did expend plenty of energy in the process. 

McGeary found himself on the ground again with 2:30 left in the second round, however, his defense prevented Davis from doing much on the floor. With 30 seconds left, McGeary found a way out once again.

It was more of the same in the third when Davis recorded another takedown one minute in but couldn't deliver the big blow, as HBO Boxing's Ed Mulholland figured out his pattern:

High kick, low kick, takedown...repeat...Phil Davis has a blueprint #bellator163

— Ed Mulholland (@muls96) November 5, 2016

However, McGeary was basically giving up rounds due to his inability to stay off the floor. 

Davis finally drew blood from McGeary's forehead in the fourth round during another ground assault.

All Davis had to do in the final round was kill the clock and get McGeary back on the ground, which he did to secure his light heavyweight world championship. 

In total, Davis landed 46 ground strikes compared to McGeary's 10 as the judges scored the match 50-43, 50-45, 50-44.

McGeary wasn't too happy about the loss, via MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani:

McGeary: "I lost my belt to a wrestler. Phil Davis does what Phil Davis does." (Read between the lines.)

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 5, 2016

He improved his record to 17-3. McGeary gave up his title and picked up his first loss, as his record now stands at 11-1.

Stats courtesy of Sherdog.com.