Fight Facts: Bellator 297 ‘Nemkov vs. Romero’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR FIGHTS: 3,342
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 299

Bellator MMA ran its June tentpole event with a card that packed the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. While on paper the event seemed to be worthy of attention, many of the matchups did not meet expectations. Bellator 297 featured a massive betting favorite prevailing in expected fashion, a 205er that cannot stop befuddling the judges and a denial of MMA history in the co-main.

Romero Had Nothing to Offer: To drop his career finish rate to an even 75%, Vadim Nemkov needed all five rounds to beat Yoel Romero for the light heavyweight strap. He has now heard the final bell in three of his last five matches, though one of the others ended via no contest.

A Champ’s Champ: Not counting the 2022 no contest retention against Corey Anderson, Nemkov has now registered four defenses of his 205-pound throne. He is the fifth champ in company history to have a reign with that many defenses, joining Ben Askren, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, Patricio Freire at featherweight and Cristiane Justino.

Clock’s Ticking: As a professional, Romero has still yet to capture a title. In two major promotions, Romero has vied for straps on four occasions and has fallen short by five-round decision every time.

Proving Ground: Staving off featherweight kingpin Patricio Freire, Sergio Pettis held tightly to his 135-pound belt by winning a clear-cut decision. He becomes just the second Bellator bantamweight champ to ever record multiple title defenses, joining Eduardo Dantas.

Heck of a Resume: “The Phenom” saw his career finish rate drop to a low 65% by upsetting Freire. In his last 14 fights dating back eight years, Pettis has gone the distance 12 times.

So Close, Yet So Very Far: Although it came in a losing effort with his attempt to become the first champ in three separate divisions in a major organization, Freire did compete for the 28th time as a Bellator fighter. That extends his record, with no other fighter having more than 24.

Fights to the Competition: Coming up short on one scorecard, Phil Davis dropped a split decision to Corey Anderson. Davis is one split call shy of the company record, held by Daniel Weichel (six).

Just Not Quite Enough: Of the five split verdicts Davis has fought to as a Bellator fighter, three have ended in defeat. He and Alejandra Lara are tied for the most split decision losses in promotional history.

Hype Train Derailed Completely: After three rounds, Gokhan Saricam did enough to get his hand raised against Daniel James. The Turkish fighter started his career with seven straight stoppages, win or lose. Since then, he has gone the distance in four consecutive appearances.

Thud Not a Slap: In the final postlim on the card, Wladimir Gouveia wrecked Gabriel Sayeg with a body kick and follow-up punches in only 20 seconds. His knockout checks in as the seventh-fastest in Bellator heavyweight history and the quickest stemming from a kick.

Might Need Crutches: Before the four-minute mark, Kyle Crutchmer battered Bobby Nash with punches to get the stoppage. The knockout for the new Fortis MMA trainee is just his second, with the first occurring back in 2018.

Wolf with No Fangs: Mike Hamel took 15 full minutes to squeak past Shamil Nikaev, doing so by majority decision. The fighter known as “The Chechen Wolf” has now gone to decision in 11 of his 12 pro fights, accounting for all of his last eight bouts.

Timur Time: Keeping his spotless record alive at 13-0, Timur Khizriev took a unanimous decision over Richie Smullen. With three of his last four going the distance, “Imam” now sees his decision rate rise to 69%.

The Magomedov Connection: At 1:24 of the opening frame, Ramazan Kuramagomedov thrashed Jaleel Willis with a knee and follow-up punches. The unbeaten Dagestan native had only once before registered a knockout, taking place over six years ago.

Nuclear Norb: With six wins under the Bellator banner and seven pro victories overall, Norbert Novenyi Jr. blazed through Kamil Oniszczuk in 46 seconds to build on his perfect record. Five of those seven have come in the first round.

Watching Veronica in the Stands: For only the second time in his burgeoning career, Archie Colgan needed the full 15 minutes to outwork a foe. “King” handed Emmanuel Sanchez a decision loss, and saw his finish rate fall to 75% -- but he remains undefeated at 8-0.

Only Human: “Not Human” Jordan Newman elevated his ledger to 6 wins with no defeats when he landed a keylock on Matthew Perry. He holds an evenly distributed method of victory, with two subs, two knockouts and two more by decision.

Barely a Formality: Ahead of his match with Perry, Newman closed as a prohibitive -2500 betting favorite. Just eight past bouts in company history – including two with fellow Bellator 297 competitor Cody Law – have seen a fighter favored this highly. No underdogs have won those matchups, while the favorites have recorded eight stoppages in those nine.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into Bellator 297, Nikaev had never been defeated (11 fights), Alex Polizzi had never dropped consecutive bouts (12 fights) and Oniszczuk had never been knocked out (11 fights).