Nemkov Defends, Pettis Denies Freire’s Bid for Third Divisional Title at Bellator 297

The best of the best! 🔥

Another phenomenal victory for Vadim Nemkov. Can anyone stop the light-heavyweight king here in Bellator? 🤔#Bellator297 pic.twitter.com/warQbO5UEu

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 17, 2023

Yoel Romero hoped to turn back the clock and win his first world title, but Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov was having none of it.

The defending champion picked, prodded and peppered Romero with shots for 25 minutes, cruising to another successful title defense (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) in the Bellator 297 main event Friday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Nemkov quickly gained control of the circle and took advantage of Romero’s notorious workrate. At age 46, Romero’s reliance on explosive blitzes and heavy-handed shots failed him early. Nemkov’s (17-2) jab and discipline on the outside carried the champ throughout the fight and routinely opened up Romero’s guard. In round three, Romero (15-7) hoped to fake out Nemkov with drunken style-like footwork. Romero brought the fans out of their seats after shoving Nemkov to the ground and following up with grazing shots. Romero found success in the final round after taking Nemkov to the ground, but it wasn’t enough to make up for four rounds of inactivity.

Pettis Denies Freire's Bid for Third Divisional Title

Sergio Pettis shines when the lights are brightest. Despite coming off an 18-month layoff, Pettis looked sharper than ever against Bellator MMA legend and former lightweight and featherweight champ Patricio “Pitbull” Freire on Friday.

Freire came into the fight favored to become the first mixed martial artist in a major promotion to win a world title in three separate weight classes, but in lieu of dropping 10 pounds to face the bantamweight kingpin, Freire discovered a level a speed and precision he was not up for.

After a back-and-forth first round, Pettis’ sharper, quicker, more unorthodox strikes took over. He wobbled and gashed Freire with a spinning heel kick late in the second round and never took his foot off the pedal. Freire looked to up his pressure and land something big late, but he was constantly beaten to the punch by the champ’s razor sharp counters.

When all was said and done, Pettis remained victorious by a wide margin unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45), halting Freire’s quest for history. Post fight, Pettis (23-5) demanded respect on his name after yet again raising his game in a fight that he was expected to lose. But another challenger already looms. Bellator bantamweight grand prix winner Patrick Mix (18-1) is listed to only be two inches taller than “The Phenom” but towered over the reigning king in the circle.

Related » Bellator 297 Round-by-Round Scoring

Anderson Edges Fellow UFC Vet Davis

A potential title eliminator between the top two light heavyweight contenders didn’t disappoint and came down to the wire.

No. 1 Corey Anderson (17-6) eked past former champ Phil Davis (24-7) by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) in a fight that would’ve satisfied the most diehard grappling fans. Davis and Anderson are both strong on the ground and were eager to see what the other could offer. All three rounds were difficult to score and neither man dominated for long periods of time.

High level scrambles mixed with solid, back-and-forth boxing on the feet made this fight a coin flip, but Anderson’s relentless energy gave him the slight edge and perhaps another shot at the light heavyweight strap.

Saricam Nullifies James

No.10 Gokhan Saricam left the Chicago crowd disappointed after putting on a dominant wrestling display on Chi-Town heavyweight slugger No. 4 Daniel James (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Despite carrying a 19 pound weight advantage, James (15-7-1) had zero answers on the ground for Saricam and was effectively neutralized. Saricam (9-1) was wise to grind out James on the ground and successfully avoided being James’ sixth knockout victim in a row.

Rabadanov Survives to Take Decision

No. 8 ranked lightweight Gadzhi Rabadanov dominated the first two rounds against Bellator debutee Pieter Buist, but Rabadanov nearly saw his five-fight win streak fall apart in Round 3.

Down two rounds, Buist opened up and landed a breath-stealing knee to the body before nearly finishing the fight with a bulldog choke. Rabadanov kicked frantically to break the hold and survived the final minutes of the fight. Despite Radadanov’s (21-4-1) late fight struggles, the judges remembered his dominating wrestling in the opening 10 minutes and awarded him the unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Kuramagomedov Steals the Show

Ramazan Kuramagomedov kicked off his Bellator debut with a bang. Sharing the cage with an experienced welterweight in Jaleel Willis (16-5), Kuramagomedov (11-0) put himself in the running for the most memorable finish of the night after dropping and stopping Willis with a devastating knee in the first round.

Kuramagomedov caught Willis slipping after a brief scramble. Willis’ head was low, off the centerline, and smack dab in the path of Kuramagomedov’s rising knee and that was all she wrote. The Dagestani prospect has five finishes on his record, but in the process of recording his second career knockout, may have put the division on notice with a solid stand-up game.

Novenyi Jr. Needs Only 46 Seconds

It only took Norbert Novenyi Jr. 46 seconds to separate Kamil Oniszczuk from his senses and improve to 7-0 on his career. Before Oniszczuk could even get settled, Novenyi leveled him with a straight right that closed the show.

Elsewhere, Archie Colgan (8-0) passed the toughest test of his young career against former featherweight title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez (20-9). Sanchez didn’t make things easy for the Genesis Training Academy prospect; the savvy vet outlanded Colgan, but Colgan’s power and prowess on the ground gave him the edge in a unanimous decision win (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). Sanchez did have him moments, however, and had the young pup in danger in Round 3 after nearly sinking in a guillotine. Colgan’s poise under pressure was impressive as the No. 10 ranked lightweight will need it as he looks to move up the standings.

Bellator’s card may have started late, but Jordan Newman (6-0) sped things up with a first-round submission of Matthew Perry in middleweight action. The Milwaukee native spent little time putting Perry on his back and pummeled “The Care Bear” with punches, before ending things with a keylock at the 4:20 mark.

Edwin Chavez had his hands full in his Bellator debut with featherweight veteran Cody Law in the opening preliminary bout of Bellator 297 Friday night. Law, looking to snap his two-fight losing streak, pressured Chavez with heavy hands early before switching up his game plan in Round 2. Using intense top pressure, Law (7-2) smothered Chavez (6-5) against the cage for the final 10 minutes of the bout and cruised to a unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).