Bellator MMA has just announced two huge championship bouts for their Bellator 297 event on June 17th. The first of which sees Sergio Pettis defend his bantamweight gold against current featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull. Headlining the card will be an elite clash at light heavyweight as Yoel Romero challenges Vadim Nemkov for the 205 lb belt.
Making huge waves in the MMA world both inside and outside of the cage. These two fights are a huge statement of intent for Bellator MMA. With their recent cross-over show with Rizin and their ongoing championship tournaments, they are producing must-watch MMA action.
Sergio Pettis vs Patricio Pitbull
Sergio Pettis will face a new challenge come Bellator 297 with featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull dropping in weight to try and claim three weight champion status.
Pettis first won the belt back at Bellator 258 in May of 2021. At the event, he defeated Juan Archuleta via unanimous decision to earn the belt. He has since gone on to defend it one time at Bellator 272. Delivering an all-time comeback KO as he defeated Kyoji Horiguchi via a spectacular spinning back fist dropping his opponent stiff.
Pitbull is a mainstay of the company, having competed in the red gloves since 2010 at Bellator 15. He has since gone on to become one of Bellator’s biggest success stories, amassing a 35-5 record.
During his time in Bellator Pitbull has become a four-time champion, the first in company history. Three of his reigns have been at featherweight where he has a combined eight title defences. His other championship triumph was at lightweight where he defeated Michael Chandler.
Vadim Nemkov vs Yoel Romero
The event’s headliner will see two of MMA’s most fearsome men battle for light heavyweight supremacy. With Vadim Nemkov and Yoel Romero locking horns in a fight sure to become a Bellator Classic.
Current and reigning champion Nemkov comes into the bout with a professional record of 16-2-1. Having won the championship belt back at Bellator 244, where he scored a devastating TKO victory over Ryan Bader. Since then Nemkov has triumphed in the light heavyweight tournament, defeating Phil Davis, Julius Angilickas and Corey Anderson to defend his gold and win the tournament.
Entering his first Bellator championship bout Yoel Romero has been box office since his switch from UFC. At 45, the ‘Soldier of God’ has shown zero signs of slowing down. Losing his debut in a close contest against Phil Davis. His next two performances have propelled the Cuban into championship contention.
Delivering back-to-back KOs taking out both Alex Polizzi and MMA legend Melvin Manhoef it appears Romero has rediscovered his killer instinct. Falling just short of a UFC title during his time in the company. Yoel looks to earn his first-ever MMA championship to go alongside his freestyle wrestling Olympic silver medal.
How good does Bellator 297 look with these two bouts topping the bill?
Featured image credits to Bellator MMA
