LOS ANGELES – A massive light heavyweight contest between Illinois’ own, No. 1-ranked Corey Anderson (16-6) and former Bellator champion Phil Davis (24-6) will take place during the main card of “Bellator 297: Nemkov vs. Romero” on Friday, June 16 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
In addition, the main event will see the Bellator light heavyweight world championship contested, when current champion and No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Vadim Nemkov (16-2) attempts to defend his title against No. 3-ranked light heavyweight, the incomparable Yoel Romero (15-6), in a bout that was originally slated for Bellator 290.
The co-headliner will feature Bellator’s No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter and current Bellator featherweight world champion, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (35-5), who will move down a weight class to challenge incumbent 135-pound champion and No. 8-ranked pound-for-pound athlete Sergio Pettis (22-5) in a Bellator “superfight” for bantamweight gold.
These three bouts anchor the main card of “Bellator 297: Nemkov vs. Romero,” an event that airs LIVE in the U.S. at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime. Tickets for the massive MMA spectacle are available now at Ticketmaster.com. Additional bouts, including a full preliminary card will be announced soon.
The two top-ranked light heavyweight contenders, No. 1-ranked Bellator light heavyweight grand prix runner-up “Overtime” Anderson and No. 2-ranked former light heavyweight world champion “Mr. Wonderful” Davis collide with a vested interest in the event’s headlining bout. Anderson, 33, will compete for the first time since his grand prix finale with champion Nemkov at Bellator 288, keen to reaffirm his claim as the division’s clear-cut No. 1 contender in his quest for a future trilogy with the Russian titleholder or a fresh matchup with the fearsome Romero.
Opposite the Illinois native will be the 38-year-old Davis, the winner of consecutive fights against the main event’s Romero and the sixth-ranked Julius Anglickas. Davis hopes to set up a showdown with whichever man emerges victorious from the main event and hoist the light heavyweight world championship for a second time in what has been a remarkable MMA tenure for the NCAA Division I national champion out of Penn State University.
The current Bellator 297 lineup includes:
- Champion Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero – for light heavyweight title
- Champion Sergio Pettis (22-5) vs. C-Patricio “Pitbull” (35-5) – for bantamweight title
- Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis
