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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Nolan King and Matt Erickson

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.

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