Tag: Vadim Nemkov

Bellator 297 post-event facts: Vadim Nemkov achieves rare feat in dominant title defense

Check out all the facts from Bellator 297, where Vadim Nemkov took another step toward arguably the greatest resume in Bellator history.

Bellator’s lone event of the month went down Friday with Bellator 297 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, and it was arguably the promotion’s biggest show of the year thus far.

Two championship bouts topped the card, and both men who entered the cage with belts, lefts with them, too. [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) handily defeated [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) by unanimous decision in the headliner to retain the light heavyweight strap, while [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (23-5 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) kept hold of bantamweight gold with a unanimous decision over [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (35-6 MMA, 22-6 BMMA).

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 297.

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Vadim Nemkov: Yoel Romero’s durability at Bellator 297 ‘was kind of weird,’ teases heavyweight move

Vadim Nemkov thinks he’s cleaned out the Bellator light heavyweight division and is now considering a move up after Bellator 297.

CHICAGO – [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] thinks he’s cleaned out the Bellator light heavyweight division and is now considering a move up to face the big boys after Bellator 297.

Nemkov (17-2 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) put on a masterclass on Friday when he dominated Yoel Romero (15-7 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) for almost five full rounds to win a lopsided unanimous decision in their main event showdown at Wintrust Arena. It was his fifth consecutive title defense, and made the Russian just the fourth in Bellator history to start a promotional tenure on a 10-fight unbeaten streak.

The 30-year-old won the 205-pound grand prix prior to defeating Romero, and his defeated all the most notable contenders in his division – some twice. Because of that, Nemkov is mulling a jump to heavyweight where he could face greater challenges.

“I am one of the best light heavyweights in the world,” Nemkov told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter post-fight at Bellator 297. “I don’t think there’s any challenge for me in the light heavyweight division, so I may try myself in heavyweight division now, because there’s no one else to fight there.”

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Nemkov had his way with Romero in the cage at Bellator 297. Although the challenger was arguably beyond his prime at 46 years old, Romero’s power and athleticism makes him a danger in any fight. He only had a few small moments over 25 minutes, though, and that was because Nemkov was overwhelming with his pace, pressure and output.

The champion landed some clean and powerful shots on multiple occasions, and he admits to be being stunned not only by Romero’s ability to take damage, but the fact he would try to taunt him.

“I was surprised about his head,” Nemkov said. “It’s really strong. There was a lot of great shots that I landed that I felt through the glove. It was kind of weird that he didn’t get injured or anything. At the end of the second round I thought I got him, but then I understood he was acting.”

If Nemkov does move up to heavyweight, a familiar foe holds the title. He already took one belt from Ryan Bader, who was a simultaneous two-division champion before Nemkov emerged and took over at light heavyweight with a second-round TKO win in August 2020.

Before he makes any firm decisions on his future, though, Nemkov said he wants to relish beating Romero, who he has admired for years.

“I’m very happy about this win,” Nemkov said. “It was very important to me. He’s a great fighter. He’s a legend. He’s an Olympian, so to win over somebody like him who was fighting with a lot of great fighters, top fighters, it means a lot to me.”

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

Vadim Nemkov def. Yoel Romero at Bellator 297: Best photos

Check out these photos highlighting Vadim Nemkov’s light heavyweight title defense over Yoel Romero at Bellator 297 at Wintrust Arena.

Check out these photos highlighting [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag]’s light heavyweight title defense over [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] at Bellator 297 at Wintrust Arena. (Photos courtesy of Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan)

Twitter reacts to Vadim Nemkov’s lopsided title defense over Yoel Romero at Bellator 297

The MMA community recognized the skill of Vadim Nemkov after a dominant display of Yoel Romero in the Bellator 297h headliner

[autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] continued his unblemished run in Bellator on Friday when he registered a title defense against [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] in the Bellator 297 headliner.

Nemkov (16-2 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) earned a third defense of the light heavyweight strap with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Romero (15-7 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) in the main event at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Nemkov’s title defense over Romero at Bellator 297.

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Bellator 297 results: Vadim Nemkov dominates inactive Yoel Romero to defend title

Vadim Nemkov showed 46-year-old Yoel Romero had no place challenging for his title with a dominant effort in the Bellator 297 main event

CHICAGO – [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] showed 46-year-old [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] had no place challenging for his title with a dominant effort in the Bellator 297 main event.

Nemkov (16-2 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) delivered a five-round display of striking excellence against the former UFC title challenger Romero (15-7 MMA, 2-2 BMMA), who had almost nothing to offer over the course of five rounds at Wintrust Arena. In the end, the Russian champion was awarded a lopsided unanimous decision by scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 49-46.

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Nemkov started the fight strong, coming up with a high volume attacking consisting of punch and kick combinations. The pressure put Romero into a defensive shell, where he remained for essentially the entirety of the round as Nemkov racked up points.

The champion kept the pressure up into the second round. Nemkov kept Romero guessing with his striking attacks, and Romero barely threw anything back, as he was outstruck at a nearly 8-to-1 rate through 10 minutes.

Nemkov was fully in rhythm going into the third round, where Romero is known to be at his most dangerous. The beatdown only got more ferocious, though, as Nemkov unleashed beautiful punching and kicking attacks that forced Romero to the point of trying to play rope-a-dope to get back in it. However, Nemkov wasn’t having any of it.

As the fight hit the championship rounds, Nemkov was firmly in control of the action. He battered Romero for nearly the whole fourth round, but “The Soldier of God” did show a few signs in life in springing forward with his signature lunging attacks – including a clean Superman punch – but Nemkov absorbed it all without issue.

It was more of the same from Nemkov in the final round, as he picked Romero apart and avoided taking a desperation shot from the Cuban on the feet. Romero got a late takedown, but he couldn’t threat with a finish and Nemkov was able to coast to the final bell and keep his title reign in tact.

With the win, Nemkov continues his run of success under the Bellator banner, becomes the fourth fighter in company history to go undefeated in their first 10 fights with the promotion. A.J. McKee, Michael Page and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane were the others.

The up-to-the-minute Bellator 297 results include:

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

Bellator 297: Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Friday’s Bellator 297 odds and lines between Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero with MMA picks, tips and predictions.

In a light heavyweight championship bout in the main event, Vadim Nemkov and Yoel Romero meet Friday at Bellator 297 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Bellator 297: Nemkov vs. Romero odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

The prelims are on live streaming on Bellator’s YouTube channel at 6 p.m. ET, with the main card on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET.

Nemkov looks to defend his strap against the former UFC fighter. He is coming off a majority-decision victory against Corey Anderson at Bellator 288 in November after a no contest against Anderson at Bellator 287 in their first meeting in April 2022.

Since topping Ryan Bader at Bellator 244 on Aug. 21, 2020, Nemkov has successfully defended his title 3 times with the no contest. The 2 other defenses were a 4th-round submission win over Julius Anglickas at Bellator 268 (Oct. 2021) and a unanimous-decision victory over Phil Davis at Bellator 257 (April 2016).

Romero makes his 4th Bellator appearance since losing in a UFC title bout against Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 in March 2020. The Cuban fighter’s Bellator debut was not great, as he lost by split-decision against Phil Davis. He has bounced back with a pair of 3rd-round KO/TKO wins over Alex Polizzi (May 2022) and Melvin Manhoef (Sept. 2022) to position himself for a title shot.

Bellator 297: Nemkov vs. Romero odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:56 a.m. ET.

  • Fight result (2-way line): Nemkov -500 (bet $500 to win $100) | Romero +365 (bet $100 to win $365)

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Bellator 297: Nemkov vs. Romero picks and predictions

Records: Nemkov (16-2-0) | Romero (15-6-0)

Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)

ROMERO (+365) is a giant underdog and a tremendous value. You can multiply your initial wager by more than 3 1/2 times playing the former UFC champ.

The 2-time Olympic wrestling champion from Cuba has a knockout of Luke Rockhold under his belt to win the light heavyweight strap at UFC 221. He narrowly lost by unanimous decision to Adesanya, one of the best to ever do it, in his UFC swan song.

While Romero didn’t start out great in Bellator, falling to Phil Davis by split-decision, he has bounced back with a pair of KO/TKO wins, showing off his signature punching power.

Romero can not only brawl toe-to-toe, but he is strong on the mat if he needs to go there. However, he’ll likely look to keep this one upright as much as possible as Nemkov also showed off his ground game abilities when he submitted Anglickas in one of his defense fights. The current champ is 3-0 via submission in 18 career pro bouts. Romero won’t want to go to the canvas, but instead will likely opt for a brawl instead.

Nemkov won’t go quietly into the night, but the time is now for Romero to ascend to the top of the division, and he is a solid value to do so.

Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and us on Facebook.

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Bellator 297 breakdown: Yoel Romero dangerous, but Vadim Nemkov just too good

MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a closer look at the Bellator 297 main event between Vadim Nemkov and Yoel Romero.

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the MMA’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for Bellator 297.

Bellator 297 takes place Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Bellator 297 ceremonial faceoffs video: Title combatants keep it intense but respectful

Watch the 30 fighters competing at Bellator 297 come face-to-face with their opponents for the final time ahead of the fights.

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 [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (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 [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (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

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

Bellator 297 video: Yoel Romero’s weigh-ins nudity causes funny moment, but Vadim Nemkov fight set

Legendary event coordinator Burt Watson was caught off guard by how long Yoel Romero was naked during his weigh-in for Bellator 297.

CHICAGO – The Bellator 297 main event is set.

Light heavyweight champion [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) was first to hit the scale Friday, and he made weight at 203.8 pounds.

His opponent, [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), stripped down behind a tarp and hit 205 pounds on the nose. The nudity triggered a comedic moment between Romero and legendary fight operations coordinator Burt Watson.

Nemkov, 30, has not lost in 11 fights and seeks his fourth successful title defense. Romero, 46, challenges for his first Bellator title after back-to-back wins over Alex Polizzi and Melvin Manhoef.

Check out the Bellator 297 headliners’ weigh-ins in the video above.

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

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

Check out the results from the official Bellator 297 fighter weigh-ins in Chicago.

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 [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) and challenger [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (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 [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and featherweight titleholder [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (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 [autotag]Jaleel Willis[/autotag] (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)

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