MMASucka staff picks have a triple-header weekend in store.
Kicking off a thrilling night of fights sees Bellator 297 set for action from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. This marks the promotion’s second event from the venue and only fifth-ever visit to the Windy City since April of 2009. Preliminary fights begin at 6:00pm ET (3:00pm PT) on Bellator’s YouTube Channel followed by the main card at 9:00pm ET (6:00pm PT) on Showtime.
Stay tuned to MMASucka for live results from the entire Bellator 297: Nemkov vs. Romero event.
Be on the lookout later today for our PFL 5 2023 picks from Atlanta and our UFC on ESPN 47: Vettori vs. Cannonier picks from Las Vegas.
The Fights
Two five-round championship fights are in store for viewers awaiting main and co-main event. Headlining the exciting card sees Light Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov set to defend his belt against challenger Yoel Romero.
Nemkov makes his first appearance of the year after defending his divisional strap in November of 2022 over Corey Anderson by unanimous decision. The victory came as the Combat Sambo specialist’s third defense and tenth straight win in MMA since his two consecutive career defeats through 19 fights. Nemkov’s opponent, Romero, also makes his year debut and had snapped a four-fight skid of defeats with two third-round knockouts in 2022 over Alex Polizzi and Melvin Manhoef. The former interim UFC Middleweight Champion and Olympic freestyle wrestler sees his first shot at gold tonight with Bellator at 46 years of age.
Action leading into the main event sees Sergio Pettis and Patricio Pitbull ready for war as they compete for the bantamweight title. 29-year-old Pettis claimed the 135-pound championship with his May of 2021 decision over Juan Archuleta followed by his one defense thus far in December of the same year over Kyoji Horiguchi by way of knockout in the fourth round. Former Bellator Lightweight Champion and current, three-time reigning Featherweight Champion Pitbull looks to further his established martial arts legacy with another title win his his 41st career match.
Additional light heavyweights of TUF 19 tournament winner Corey Anderson and former divisional champion Phil Davis will meet on the main card. Opening the Showtime portion sees a fight pairing between heavyweights Daniel James and Gokhan Saricam.
Who wins and who is picked by the MMASucka crew at Bellator 297?
Glory awaits! 👀
Light-heavyweight king Vadim Nemkov defends the gold against fan favorite @YoelRomeroMMA. Who will leave @WintrustArena with the gold?#Bellator297 LIVE FRIDAY:
🇺🇸 @SHOsports at 9pm ET/6PM PT
🌍 Find out how to watch ▶️ https://t.co/jPjMHzLhCd pic.twitter.com/m5Y1QFbOvS— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 15, 2023
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.
The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.
Check out our staff picks for Bellator 297: Nemkov vs. Romero below.
Staff Records after UFC 289:
1T. Michael DeSantis: 123-61
1T. Ben Jamieson: 123-61
3. Jeremy Brand: 119-65
4. Nate Freeman: 118-66
5. Frazer Krohn: 116-68
6. Wesley Riddle: 115-69
7. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
8. Julio Monteros Jr.: 102-66
9. Brian Knight: 94-51
10. Andrew Benjamin: 91-77
11. Jack Goodwillie: 90-53
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 29-21
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Daniel James (15-6-1), +100
vs.
Gokhan Saricam (8-2), -120
Heavyweight Division
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: James via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: James via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: James via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: James via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: James via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: James via Split Decision
Brian Knight: James via Round 2 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: James via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Saricam via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking James: 8
Staff picking Saricam: 1
Corey Anderson (16-6, 1 NC), -190
vs.
Phil Davis (24-6, 1 NC), +160
Light Heavyweight Division
– 205 LBS. ~ 93.0 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Davis via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Anderson via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Anderson via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Davis via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Anderson via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Anderson via Split Decision
Brian Knight: Davis via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Anderson via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Anderson via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Anderson: 6
Staff picking Davis: 3
Sergio Pettis (22-5), +135
vs.
Patricio Pitbull (35-5), -155
Bantamweight Divisional Championship
– Co-Main Event –
– 135 LBS. ~ 61.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Pettis via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Pitbull via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Pitbull via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Pettis via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Pettis via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Pettis via Split Decision
Brian Knight: Pettis via Round 2 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Pettis via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Pitbull via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Pettis: 6
Staff picking Pitbull: 3
Vadim Nemkov (16-2, 1 NC), -560
vs.
Yoel Romero (15-6), +430
Heavyweight Division
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Nemkov via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Nemkov: 9
Staff picking Romero: 0
BELLATOR 297 FEATURED IMAGE:
Champion Sergio Pettis (left) and challenger Patricio Pitbull (right) ahead of their Bellator 297 co-main event for the Bellator Bantamweight title taking place Friday, June 16th from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois (photo credits to Bellator MMA).
