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.