| Nemkov vs. Romero |
Pettis vs. Freire |
Anderson vs. Davis |
James vs. Saricam |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 89-55 |
 Nemkov (61%) |
 Freire (60%) |
 Anderson (55%) |
 James (63%) |
| Matt Erickson @MattE 94-50 |
Nemkov |
Freire |
 Davis |
James |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 91-53 |
Nemkov |
Freire |
Anderson |
James |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 90-54 |
Nemkov |
 Pettis |
Anderson |
James |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 90-54 |
Nemkov |
Freire |
Anderson |
James |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 87-57 |
Nemkov |
Freire |
Anderson |
James |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 85-59  2014 Champion |
Nemkov |
Freire |
Anderson |
James |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway -84-60 2018, 2022 Champion |
Nemkov |
Freire |
Davis |
 Saricam |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 83-61 |
Nemkov |
Freire |
Anderson |
James |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 81-63 |
Nemkov |
Freire |
Anderson |
James |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 79-65 2017 Champion |
Nemkov |
Freire |
Anderson |
James |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 78-66 |
 Romero |
Freire |
Anderson |
James |
Bellator is back in the “Windy City” this week with a pair of title fights at the top of the card.
Bellator 297 takes place Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov (16-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) puts his title on the line against Yoel Romero (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA). Nemkov is a heavy favorite of more than 6-1 at some online sportsbooks, and he is a near unanimous pick from our 11 editors, writers and videographers at 10-1.
In the co-feature, Sergio Pettis (22-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) puts his bantamweight title up for grabs against featherweight champ Patricio Freire (35-5 MMA, 23-5 BMMA), who also is a former lightweight titleholder. A win would make him the first three-division champion in Bellator history and would have him as a dual champ once again. “Pitbull” Freire is a 2-1 favorite and a near-unanimous pick at 10-1.
Corey Anderson (17-6 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) nearly is a 2-1 favorite against former light heavyweight champ Phil Davis (24-6 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) and he has a big 9-2 picks lead.
And to open the main card, even though he’s a slight underdog, heavyweight contender and Chicago native Daniel James (15-6-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) has a massive 10-1 picks lead on Gokhan Saricam (8-2 MMA, 4-2 BMMA).
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.