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Bellator 297 weigh-in results: Patricio Freire lighter than necessary for bantamweight debut

MMA Junkie Staff
·2 min read

CHICAGO – MMA Junkie was on scene at Friday’s official Bellator 297 fighter weigh-ins, which took place at the Bellator host hotel in Chicago.

The nearby Wintrust Arena hosts Friday’s event, which has a main card on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Among those who weighed in were light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov (16-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) and challenger Yoel Romero (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), who meet in the main event. Both fighters made weight. Nemkov was first of all the fighters to take the scale and weighed 203.8. Minutes later, Romero weighed 205 with a towel, which created a comedic moment with Bellator fighter operations’ Burt Watson.

Bantamweight champ Sergio Pettis (22-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and featherweight titleholder Patricio Freire (35-5 MMA, 23-5 BMMA), who is trying for Bellator history with a title in a third division, also took to the scales.

Much buzz was made about Freire’s move to bantamweight, but Friday he proved any doubters wrong when he came in lighter than needed – at 134.2 pounds. Pettis affirmed his reputation as a professional when he came in even lighter, at 134 pounds.

The weigh-ins were rapid-fire to start, as 29 athletes weighed in during the first 15 minutes of the one-hour window. Welterweight Jaleel Willis (16-4 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) was the lone fighter outside of the initial burst, but he made 171 with the towel.

The full Bellator 297 weigh-in results include:

MAIN CARD (Showtime (9 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Vadim Nemkov (203.8) vs. Yoel Romero (205) – for light heavyweight title

  • Champ Sergio Pettis (134) vs. Patricio Freire (134.2) – for bantamweight title

  • Corey Anderson (205) vs. Phil Davis (206)

  • Daniel James (265) vs. Gokhan Saricam (246)

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Wladmir Gouvea (264) vs. Gabriel Sayeg (261)

  • Kyle Crutchmer (171) vs. Bobby Nash (171)

  • Pieter Buist (156) vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov (156)

  • Ramazan Kuramagomedov (170) vs. Jaleel Willis (171)

  • Mike Hamel (155) vs. Shamil Nikaev (156)

  • Norbert Novenyi Jr. (185) vs. Kamil Oniszczuk (186)

  • Archie Colgan (155) vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (155)

  • Karl Moore (205) vs. Alex Polizzi (204)

  • Timur Khizriev (145) vs. Richie Smullen (145)

  • Jordan Newman (186) vs. Matthew Perry (184)

  • Edwin Chavez (146) vs. Cody Law (145)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie