How to Watch Bellator 297

Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov will attempt to make the fourth successful defense of his world title against mixed martial arts legend Yoel Romero on June 16. The bout will headline Bellator 297 from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Nemkov (15-2) is coming off of a five-round unanimous decision win over Corey Anderson back in November, in which he also won Bellator’s World Grand Prix at 205 pounds. His semifinal and quarterfinal wins came against veteran Phil Davis and Julius Anglickas in 2021.

Since his split-decision loss to Davis in his Bellator debut, Romero (15-6) has put together a two-fight win streak, violently finishing both Alex Polizzi and fellow combat sports icon Melvin Manhoef in 2022. On Saturday, Romero will challenge for a major MMA world title for the first time since his decision loss at middleweight to Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 in 2020, and will be competing in his third consecutive bout at light heavyweight.

Rightfully so, Nemkov will come into this bout as a significant betting favorite. While Romero has competed at a high level at an advanced age for quite some time now, he is 46-years-old and has racked up plenty of mileage throughout his career. Meanwhile, Nemkov is 30, in his physical prime and is currently riding an 11-fight unbeaten streak.

The co-main event for Bellator 297 will feature bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis (22-5) defending his title against reigning featherweight champ Patricio Freire, who will attempt to earn “champ-champ” status for the second time and capture a title in his third weight class.

Bellator 297 “Nemkov vs. Romero”—which airs live on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT—also features a light heavyweight clash matching Corey Anderson with Phil Davis and a heavyweight affair pitting Daniel James against Gokhan Saricam. The robust 11-fight undercard streams to the Bellator YouTube channel at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT, a welterweight tilt slotting Kyle Crutchmer opposite Bobby Nash highlighting the preliminary festivities.

A closer look at the Bellator 297 particulars:

THE LINEUP

205: Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero
135: Sergio Pettis vs. Patricio Freire
205: Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis
265: Daniel James vs. Gokhan Saricam
265: Wladimir Gouvea vs. Gabriel Sayeg
170: Kyle Crutchmer vs. Bobby Nash
155: Pieter Buist vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
170: Jaleel Willis vs. Ramazan Kuramagomedov
155: Mike Hamel vs. Shamil Nikaev
185: Norbert Novenyi Jr. vs. Kamil Oniszczuk
155: Archie Colgan vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
205: Karl Moore vs. Alex Polizzi
145: Timur Khizriev vs. Richie Smullen
185: Jordan Newman vs. Matthew Perry
145: Cody Law vs. Edwin Chavez

THE RUNDOWN

• Preview: The Sheehan Show
• By The Numbers: Nemkov vs. Romero
• 5 Things You Might Not Know About Phil Davis
• 5 Defining Moments: Sergio Pettis

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Brian Knapp contributed to this item.