![Former UFC star earns impressive knockout to advance to semi-finals of PFL light heavyweight tournament [Image courtesy: Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/05/d0baf-17462134128281-1920.jpg)
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A former UFC star recently celebrated his return following a two-year hiatus by earning his first knockout win in six years to advance to the semi-finals of the PFL light heavyweight tournament. The promotion kicked off their light heavyweight and heavyweight brackets, which featured plenty of exciting finishes.
Phil Davis was consistently a top light heavyweight contender during his tenure with the UFC. Despite never earning a title shot during his tenure with the promotion, 'Mr. Wonderful' would still go on to achieve success elsewhere as he captured the Bellator light heavyweight championship in 2016.
Davis was matched up with Rob Wilkinson in the first round of the tournament and was listed as the underdog according to several oddsmakers.
Although the first round didn't go his way, the 40-year-old regrouped and dropped Wilkinson with a powerful right hand early in the second round. He then finished him with ground strikes to earn a TKO win.
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It was a first KO/TKO victory for Davis since 2019, when he earned a third-round technical knockout over Karl Albrektsson at Bellator 231.
Check out the full video of Phil Davis' second round TKO win over Rob Wilkinson below:
Who is Phil Davis fighting in the semi-finals of the PFL light heavyweight tournament?
Phil Davis' impressive win in last night's main event earned him a place in the semi-finals of the PFL light heavyweight tournament, where he will take on Sullivan Cauley.
Cauley earned his spot in the semi-finals after earning a first-round TKO win over Alex Polizzi. During the post-show, Davis shared his thoughts on his semi-final matchup and his mentality when approaching his fights:
"I'm gonna go back and watch [Cauley's] fights. I like to take it very, very, very one fight at a time. Never even take nothing for granted. You can get injured walking to the cage or warming up, pull a muscle, like, nothing is for granted. Don't look down the road. I just focused on Rob Wilkinson and now I'm gonna go and take a deep dive on Cauley."
Check out Phil Davis' comments below (3:55):
