Bellator 297 ceremonial faceoffs video: Title combatants keep it intense but respectful
CHICAGO – Bellator 297 takes place Friday at Wintrust Arena and the fighters came face-to-face Thursday for the final time before they throw down in the cage.
Main event combatants Vadim Nemkov (16-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) and Yoel Romero (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) had a respectful faceoff. Nemkov seeks his fourth title defense while Romero challenges for a Bellator title for the first time.
A highly-anticipated co-main event super-fight produced an intense faceoff as bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis (22-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and Patricio Freire (35-5 MMA, 23-5 BMMA) stared each other down.
The fight marks Pettis’ first in 14 months since a serious knee injury. For Freire, the bout is his first at bantamweight and an opportunity for him to capture Bellator gold in a third weight division.
The full Bellator 297 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime (9 p.m. ET)
Champ Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero – for light heavyweight title
Champ Sergio Pettis vs. Patricio Freire – for bantamweight title
Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis
Daniel James vs. Gokhan Saricam
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6 p.m. ET)
Wladmir Gouvea vs. Gabriel Sayeg
Kyle Crutchmer vs. Bobby Nash
Pieter Buist vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
Ramazan Kuramagomedov vs. Jaleel Willis
Mike Hamel vs. Shamil Nikaev
Norbert Novenyi Jr. vs. Kamil Oniszczuk
Archie Colgan vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
Karl Moore vs. Alex Polizzi
Timur Khizriev vs. Richie Smullen
Jordan Newman vs. Matthew Perry
Edwin Chavez vs. Cody Law
David McKinney vs. Max Metzgar
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.
