One of Professional Fighters League’s most accomplished light heavyweight athletes will not be competing next week.
The organization announced on Friday that Phil Davis is out of a proposed clash against Rob Wilkinson at PFL 2. As a result, Tom Breese will step in and face Wilkinson. A reason for Davis’ withdrawal from the event was not given.
PFL 2 takes place on April 12 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas and features regular season bouts at light heavyweight and lightweight. The card is headlined by a 205-pound clash pitting Impa Kasanganay against Alex Polizzi.
A former Bellator MMA light heavyweight champion and UFC veteran, Davis last appeared at Bellator 297, where he suffered a split-decision loss to Corey Anderson. “Mr. Wonderful” went 11-4 under the Bellator banner after parting ways with the UFC in 2015.
Once regarded as a promising middleweight prospect in the UFC, Breese exited the promotion in 2021 after compiling a 5-3 mark. He has since won six of his last seven outings, most recently submitting Cleiton Silva in the opening stanza at the PFL Europe Finals this past December.
After a breakout 2022 where he finished all four of his opponents to become PFL light heavyweight champion, Wilkinson was sidelined the majority of last year after failing a drug test in relation to his fight against Thiago Santos in April 2023. Wilkinson tested positive for an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio resulting from the androgynous origin of testosterone and was suspended nine months. Additionally, his unanimous decision triumph was overturned to a no contest.
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