BELLATOR 297: NEMKOV VS. ROMERO

17 June 2023 01:00 AM

BELLATOR MMA will bring not one, but two world championship contests to “The Windy City” Friday, June 16 when the promotion returns to Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

The main event will see the BELLATOR Light Heavyweight World Champion and No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Vadim Nemkov (16-2, 1 NC) defend his title against No. 3-ranked light heavyweight and Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero (15-6), in a bout that was originally slated for BELLATOR 290.

The co-headliner will feature 30-fight BELLATOR MMA veteran, current BELLATOR Featherweight World Champion and No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Patricio “Pitbull” (35-5) moving down a weight class to challenge incumbent 135-pound champion and No. 8-ranked pound-for-pound athlete Sergio Pettis (22-5) in a BELLATOR “Super Fight” for bantamweight gold.

The preliminary portion of BELLATOR 297 now features a middleweight fight between No. 5-ranked Austin Vanderford (11-2) and Dagestan’s undefeated Imamshafi Aliev (9-0), who was victorious in his promotional debut at BELLATOR 288. “The Windy City” will also see undefeated, homegrown prospect Jordan Newman (5-0) try his hand against the second-most famous Matthew Perry (5-3) in a friendly 185-pound affair.

At lightweight, Mike Hamel (10-5) quickly returns to action against “The Chechen Wolf,” Shamil Nikaev (10-0), No. 7-ranked Leandro Higo (21-6) goes to battle against Team Fedor’s Nikita Mikhailov (10-2) at bantamweight, Cody Law (6-2) looks to bounce back from the first losing streak of his young career against Colorado’s Edwin Chavez (6-4), Wladmir Gouvea (1-0) returns for his sophomore appearance in BELLATOR against two-fight veteran Kevin Childs (1-1), and highly-touted Max Metzgar makes his pro debut against David McKinney (1-3).

Additionally, Kyle Crutchmer (9-2), a two-time NCAA All-American and two-time Big 12 champion at Oklahoma State has replaced Roman Faraldo (8-1) and will now face Bobby Nash (12-4) in a welterweight matchup.

See full bout list here - https://bellator360.com/to/_G_fjR

Pay-Per-View

Product sales finished

BELLATOR MMA will bring not one, but two world championship contests to “The Windy City” Friday, June 16 when the promotion returns to Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

The main event will see the BELLATOR Light Heavyweight World Champion and No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Vadim Nemkov (16-2, 1 NC) defend his title against No. 3-ranked light heavyweight and Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero (15-6), in a bout that was originally slated for BELLATOR 290.

The co-headliner will feature 30-fight BELLATOR MMA veteran, current BELLATOR Featherweight World Champion and No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Patricio “Pitbull” (35-5) moving down a weight class to challenge incumbent 135-pound champion and No. 8-ranked pound-for-pound athlete Sergio Pettis (22-5) in a BELLATOR “Super Fight” for bantamweight gold.

The preliminary portion of BELLATOR 297 now features a middleweight fight between No. 5-ranked Austin Vanderford (11-2) and Dagestan’s undefeated Imamshafi Aliev (9-0), who was victorious in his promotional debut at BELLATOR 288. “The Windy City” will also see undefeated, homegrown prospect Jordan Newman (5-0) try his hand against the second-most famous Matthew Perry (5-3) in a friendly 185-pound affair.

At lightweight, Mike Hamel (10-5) quickly returns to action against “The Chechen Wolf,” Shamil Nikaev (10-0), No. 7-ranked Leandro Higo (21-6) goes to battle against Team Fedor’s Nikita Mikhailov (10-2) at bantamweight, Cody Law (6-2) looks to bounce back from the first losing streak of his young career against Colorado’s Edwin Chavez (6-4), Wladmir Gouvea (1-0) returns for his sophomore appearance in BELLATOR against two-fight veteran Kevin Childs (1-1), and highly-touted Max Metzgar makes his pro debut against David McKinney (1-3).

Additionally, Kyle Crutchmer (9-2), a two-time NCAA All-American and two-time Big 12 champion at Oklahoma State has replaced Roman Faraldo (8-1) and will now face Bobby Nash (12-4) in a welterweight matchup.

See full bout list here - https://bellator360.com/to/_G_fjR