Bellator 297 has lost two bouts, including a former title challenger. The event, which is scheduled for June 16 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, will now feature 16 fights instead of 18.
The two bouts that have been canceled are a middleweight bout between Austin Vanderford and Imamshafi Aliev, and a bantamweight bout between Leandro Higo and Nikita Mikhailov.
The middleweight bout between Vanderford and Aliev has been canceled due to undisclosed reasons. Meanwhile, the bantamweight matchup between Higo and Mikhailov was canceled due to an illness.
The rest of this 16-fight Bellator 297 fight is as followed.
Bellator 297 Fight Card
Even with a couple of fight cancelations, this is a fantastic fight card. There are not one but two title fights on tap as the light heavyweight championship is on the line when champion Vadium Nemkov takes on former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero. Also, we have the bantamweight championship on the line when Patricio Pitbull looks to become the first-ever three-division champion when he takes on the champion Sergio Pettis.
Main Card (9 P.M. EST Showtime)
- Champion Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero – light heavyweight title
- Champion Sergio Pettis vs. Patricio Freire – bantamweight title
- Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis
- Daniel James vs. Gokhan Saricam
Prelims (6:00 P.M. EST Bellator MMA Youtube)
- David McKinney vs. Max Metzgar
- Wladmir Gouvea vs. Gabriel Sayeg
- Kyle Crutchmer vs. Bobby Nash
- Pieter Buist vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
- Ramazan Kurmagomedov vs. Jaleel Willis
- Mike Hamel vs. Shamil Nikaev
- Norbert Novenyi 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
Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero should be a fantastic title fight
Vadim Nemkov and Yoel Romero are two of the most exciting fighters in Bellator. Nemkov is the current light heavyweight champion, while Romero is a former UFC middleweight title contender.
Nemkov is a well-rounded fighter with a strong wrestling background. He is also a very good striker, and he has knocked out several of his opponents. Romero is a powerful striker with a devastating left hook. He is also a very good wrestler being as he was an Olympic wrestler, and he has submitted several of his opponents.
This fight is a clash of styles. Nemkov will look to use his wrestling to control Romero and take him down. Romero will look to use his striking to knock out Nemkov. This fight is expected to be a close one. However, I believe that Nemkov’s movement and the ability to push a pace will be the difference in this fight. I predict that Nemkov will win by decision.
Pettis makes his return as Pitbull attempts to make history
Patricio Pitbull and Sergio Pettis are two of the best fighters in the entire Bellator MMA organization. Pitbull is the current Bellator Featherweight champion, while Pettis is the current Bellator Bantamweight champion.
Pitbull is a well-rounded fighter with a strong striking background. He is also a very good grappler as he is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and he has submitted several of his opponents.
Pettis is a powerful striker with a diverse striking arsenal. He is also a very good grappler, but he does his best work on the feet as we saw in his win over the former bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi.
This fight is a clash of styles. Pitbull will look to use his striking to knock out Pettis. Pettis will look to utilize his footwork and speed to outstrike Pitbull. This fight is expected to be a close one. However, I believe that Pitbull’s experience will be the difference in this fight. I predict that Pitbull will win by decision.
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