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Yoel
Romero hoped to turn back the clock and win his first world
title, but Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim
Nemkov was having none of it.

The defending champion picked, prodded and peppered Romero with
shots for 25 minutes, cruising to another successful title defense
(49-46, 49-46, 49-46) in the
Bellator 297 main event Friday night at Wintrust Arena in
Chicago.

Nemkov quickly gained control of the circle and took advantage of
Romero’s notorious workrate. At age 46, Romero’s reliance on
explosive blitzes and heavy-handed shots failed him early. Nemkov’s
(17-2) jab and discipline on the outside carried the champ
throughout the fight and routinely opened up Romero’s guard. In
round three, Romero (15-7) hoped to fake out Nemkov with drunken
style-like footwork. Romero brought the fans out of their seats
after shoving Nemkov to the ground and following up with grazing
shots. Romero found success in the final round after taking Nemkov
to the ground, but it wasn’t enough to make up for four rounds of
inactivity.

Pettis Denies Freire’s Bid for Third Divisional Title

Sergio
Pettis shines when the lights are brightest. Despite coming off
an 18-month layoff, Pettis looked sharper than ever against
Bellator
MMA legend and former lightweight and featherweight champ
Patricio
“Pitbull” Freire on Friday.

Freire came into the fight favored to become the first mixed
martial artist in a major promotion to win a world title in three
separate weight classes, but in lieu of dropping 10 pounds to face
the bantamweight kingpin, Freire discovered a level a speed and
precision he was not up for.

After a back-and-forth first round, Pettis’ sharper, quicker, more
unorthodox strikes took over. He wobbled and gashed Freire with a
spinning heel kick late in the second round and never took his foot
off the pedal. Freire looked to up his pressure and land something
big late, but he was constantly beaten to the punch by the champ’s
razor sharp counters.

When all was said and done, Pettis remained victorious by a wide
margin unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45), halting Freire’s
quest for history. Post fight, Pettis (23-5) demanded respect on
his name after yet again raising his game in a fight that he was
expected to lose. But another challenger already looms. Bellator
bantamweight grand prix winner Patrick Mix
(18-1) is listed to only be two inches taller than “The Phenom” but
towered over the reigning king in the circle.


Anderson Edges Fellow UFC Vet Davis

A potential title eliminator between the top two light heavyweight
contenders didn’t disappoint and came down to the wire.

No. 1 Corey
Anderson (17-6) eked past former champ Phil Davis
(24-7) by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) in a fight that
would’ve satisfied the most diehard grappling fans. Davis and
Anderson are both strong on the ground and were eager to see what
the other could offer. All three rounds were difficult to score and
neither man dominated for long periods of time.

High level scrambles mixed with solid, back-and-forth boxing on the
feet made this fight a coin flip, but Anderson’s relentless energy
gave him the slight edge and perhaps another shot at the light
heavyweight strap.

Saricam Nullifies James

No.10 Gokhan
Saricam left the Chicago crowd disappointed after putting on a
dominant wrestling display on Chi-Town heavyweight slugger No. 4
Daniel
James (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Despite carrying a 19 pound weight advantage, James (15-7-1) had
zero answers on the ground for Saricam and was effectively
neutralized. Saricam (9-1) was wise to grind out James on the
ground and successfully avoided being James’ sixth knockout victim
in a row.

Rabadanov Survives to Take Decision

No. 8 ranked lightweight Gadzhi
Rabadanov dominated the first two rounds against Bellator
debutee Pieter
Buist, but Rabadanov nearly saw his five-fight win streak fall
apart in Round 3.

Down two rounds, Buist opened up and landed a breath-stealing knee
to the body before nearly finishing the fight with a bulldog choke.
Rabadanov kicked frantically to break the hold and survived the
final minutes of the fight. Despite Radadanov’s (21-4-1) late fight
struggles, the judges remembered his dominating wrestling in the
opening 10 minutes and awarded him the unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28).

Kuramagomedov Steals the Show

Ramazan
Kuramagomedov kicked off his Bellator debut with a bang.
Sharing the cage with an experienced welterweight in Jaleel
Willis (16-5), Kuramagomedov (11-0) put himself in the running
for the most memorable finish of the night after dropping and
stopping Willis with a devastating knee in the first round.

Kuramagomedov caught Willis slipping after a brief scramble.
Willis’ head was low, off the centerline, and smack dab in the path
of Kuramagomedov’s rising knee and that was all she wrote. The
Dagestani prospect has five finishes on his record, but in the
process of recording his second career knockout, may have put the
division on notice with a solid stand-up game.

Novenyi Jr. Needs Only 46 Seconds

It only took Norbert
Novenyi Jr. 46 seconds to separate Kamil
Oniszczuk from his senses and improve to 7-0 on his career.
Before Oniszczuk could even get settled, Novenyi leveled him with a
straight right that closed the show.

Elsewhere, Archie
Colgan (8-0) passed the toughest test of his young career
against former featherweight title challenger Emmanuel
Sanchez (20-9). Sanchez didn’t make things easy for the Genesis
Training Academy prospect; the savvy vet outlanded Colgan, but
Colgan’s power and prowess on the ground gave him the edge in a
unanimous decision win (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). Sanchez did have him
moments, however, and had the young pup in danger in Round 3 after
nearly sinking in a guillotine. Colgan’s poise under pressure was
impressive as the No. 10 ranked lightweight will need it as he
looks to move up the standings.

Bellator’s card may have started late, but Jordan
Newman (6-0) sped things up with a first-round submission of
Matthew
Perry in middleweight action. The Milwaukee native spent little
time putting Perry on his back and pummeled “The Care Bear” with
punches, before ending things with a keylock at the 4:20 mark.

Edwin
Chavez had his hands full in his Bellator debut with
featherweight veteran Cody Law in
the opening preliminary bout of Bellator 297 Friday night. Law,
looking to snap his two-fight losing streak, pressured Chavez with
heavy hands early before switching up his game plan in Round 2.
Using intense top pressure, Law (7-2) smothered Chavez (6-5)
against the cage for the final 10 minutes of the bout and cruised
to a unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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