after a month of work, Bellator MMA He returns once again to the Windy City with a massive 16 fight card. The night will conclude with a pair of title fights Sergio Pettis Returns to cage competition for the first time in 18 months as he looks to defend his super bantamweight title against the all-time great Bellator Patricio Pitbull in the co-main event. The main event will feature a light heavyweight title showdown as “Soldier of God”. Yoel Romero He pushes for championship gold for perhaps the last time as he challenges the current champion Vadim Nemkov.
Bellator 297 fight card preview
Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero
Beware of the dog 👀@employee Sends a message to lightweight champion Vadim Nemkov. # Bellator 297 pic.twitter.com/Ty8hfVdfE0
– Bellator MMA (BellatorMMA) June 13, 2023
Despite a highly decorated wrestling career, 46-year-old Yoel Romero has never topped the MMA mountain. default in all his attempts to get a title in UFCRomero scored consecutive runs in the third to secure a title shot against Fedor Vadim Nemkov’s team.
Nemkov was relatively unchallenged in his time with Bellator. debut in Scott CokerNemkov’s promotion in 2017 took him eight wins with five finishes. He defeated the 30-year-old Russian and then two-time champion Ryan Bader for the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship at Bellator 244. At Bellator 277, he faced Nemkov Corey Anderson. Anderson would edge out Nemkov in their final fight in the $1 Million Grand Prix tournament, but an accidental clash of heads would result in a cut above Nemkov’s left eye, resulting in a “no contest”. It would take the light heavyweight pair back to Bellator 288, where Nemkov would edge out Anderson with a unanimous decision win.
Sergio Pettis vs. Patricio Pitbull
This fight is the proverbial bulb of the fight card. Fighting fans have many layers to analyze when considering this bantamweight clash. Bettis is coming off an 18-month layoff with an ACL injury. One has to wonder if there will be any visible “cage rust” from his time out of competition. Before the injury, he was the younger brother of the MMA great Anthony Bettis He was awarded ‘Knockout of the Year’ among most MMA publications to end his dramatic comeback Koji Horiguchi at Bellator 272 in December 2021. Pettis has never been defeated in his tenure with Bellator, having accumulated four wins between two finishes.
𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 ⏳@employee She aims to become the world’s first world champion at 3 oz # Bellator 297.
Betis 🆚 Pitbull | Friday, 9pm EST / 6pm PT | @employee pic.twitter.com/7d5bEkFb8z
– Bellator MMA (BellatorMMA) June 13, 2023
For Patrício Pitbull, this will be the first fight of his career competing in the bantamweight division. Traditionally, dropping weight in the latter part of a mixed martial artist’s career is unheard of, but if it is done, it will not usually lead to success.
Pitbull is the current Bellator World Featherweight Champion after regaining his title by defeating him AJ Maki at Bellator 277. Since Pettis’ last fight, Pitbull has competed three times and been defeated Adam BurexAnd QuickEarps Clipperand the aforementioned Maki.
When considering the styles of both men, this battle becomes even more complex. Both men are world-class stand-up and black belt level jiu-jitsu champions. For Pitbull, one would assume that he would have a huge advantage against them and would look to close the distance and take out Betis for the win. The 35-year-old Brazilian has twelve of the 35 victories of his career.
For Pettis, earning Pitbull’s respect early, managing the distance, and staying technical would be the Roufusport athlete’s best chance of retaining the championship gold.
Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis
The top pair of light heavyweights will meet outside the main event title bout as No. 1 seed Corey Anderson battles No. 2 “Mr. Wonderful” Phil Davis.
Both men have had stints in the UFC and have fought at the highest levels of competition. Anderson lost his final bout against Nemkov, with many pundits viewing his inactivity as a major factor in the defeat. Overtime will have to step up the activity in order to raise a hand in victory.
will “Mr. Awesome” stop Anderson? 👊@employee Returns a year later in Showdown @employee Live broadcast from @employee In Chicago 🇺🇸# Bellator 297 | Friday, June 16 | @employee pic.twitter.com/o0bp1Ixu0T
– Bellator MMA (BellatorMMA) June 11, 2023
Marking the blue corner, the 38-year-old Davis will compete for the first time in over a year as his last fights came at Bellator 276 in March 2022. In that bout, Davis was sweeping Julius Angelicas in the scorecards to his 24th career win. The former Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion still has some of the best wrestling across Bellator’s Seven male weight divisions And he will likely look to capitalize on that against his opponent on Friday night.
It’s a tough ending in this fight because both men are incredibly skilled and battle-tested. Expect to hear the judges’ scorecards on this one.
Daniel James vs. Gokhan Sarikam
earn one more Stack impressive victories On the history of Bellator at Bellator 288, Daniel “American Predator” James He experienced a resurgence in his nine-year career. After going 10-6-1 in his first seventeen bouts, the 41-year-old heavyweight has had five straight TKOs, after stopping Marcelo Golem In the Bellator 293 main event.
𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 👊🔥
There is a fighting heavyweight advantage between @djames1981 And Gokhan Sarikam is heading to @employee16 June
Who will win in Chicago? 🤔 # Bellator 297 pic.twitter.com/wiqGw9oziK
– Bellator MMA (BellatorMMA) June 10, 2023
Türkiye Gokhan Sarikam He is 4-2 in his time with Bellator, having notched wins over the likes Said Sowma And Charlie Milner. Both men possess hard-hitting knockout power, so the crowds shouldn’t be blinking at this heavyweight master card opener.
Winning the win, either man could very well see themselves in the heavyweight title picture.
The rest of the card
Bellator 297 features a 12-fight first card featuring fan favorites like Emmanuel Sanchez And Cody Low And a bunch of unbeaten prospects in Jordan NewmanAnd Archie ColganAnd Timur KhizrevAnd Shamil NikayevAnd Norbert Novene JrAnd And destroy GouveiaAnd Ramzan Kuramagomedov.
Stay tuned because MMASucka has all the coverage fight fans need this week for Bellator 297 with live coverage. Friday night.