Nemkov vs Romero, Pettis vs Pitbull Booked For Bellator 297

Bellator MMA interim Bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots will collide with Patchy Mix in the main event of Bellator 295 on April 22, 2023 in the Bantamweight World Grand Prix finale to see who wins the $1 million prize and earn a shot at unifying the 135-pound strap. But Bellator has added a small twist because that title unification bout may not be against current champion, Sergio Pettis.

The promotion announced on Monday that current Featherweight champion, Patricio Pitbull, will drop down a weight class to challenge “The Phenom” in the co-main event of Bellator 297, which is set to go down on June 16, 2023 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

Pitbull — the former Lightweight champion — teased a move down earlier this year but it was still unclear if he would actually put his body through the rigorous weight cut in an attempt to make history by becoming the first fighter under the Bellator banner to win titles in three separate divisions.

Pettis, meanwhile, hasn’t competed since Dec. 2021 at Bellator 272 where he knocked out Kyoji Horiguchi via spinning backfist to earn his first-ever title defense, which was also his fifth straight win. Pettis was set to participate in the Grand Prix but was forced out with an injury. Now, he will look to score perhaps the biggest win of his career by taking out the face of the promotion.

In the main event of the evening, Light Heavyweight champion, Vadim Nemkov, will put his belt on the line against longtime veteran, Yoel Romero. The two men were originally set to collide at Bellator 290 earlier this year, but the bout was scrapped a few weeks before showtime.

Romero is currently ranked No. 3 in the 205-pound weight class and is coming off a stellar knockout win over Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 285 in Dublin, Ireland (see it here). That was his second straight stoppage victory after previously defeating Alex Polizzi at Bellator 280 in Paris, France (highlights).

Nemkov, meanwhile, retained his title by defeating Corey Anderson in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix in Nov. 2022. Nemkov is unbeaten in 11 fights and is 8-0-1 under the Bellator banner.

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