Fresh off his impressive knockout win over Marcelo Golm at Bellator 293 two weeks ago (see it again here), Daniel James is ready to climb back into the Bellator MMA cage. Per a press release, “The Predator” has been booked to face off against Gokhan Saricam in the main card of the upcoming Bellator 297 fight card on June 16, 2023 in Chicago, Ill.
Currently riding a five-fight win streak, James has wasted little time in making an impact in the Heavyweight division, making a successful debut by stunning Tyrell Fortune via knockout in Nov. 22, which was preceded by his win over Golm. Those two wins were good enough to shoot him up to the No. 4 spot.
James — who is from Chicago — called for a shot at the title shortly after his last win, but the next championship fight at 265 pounds is reserved for Linton Vassell, who will challenge Ryan Bader at a date and location that has yet-to-be determined.
As for Saricam, he will look to bounce back after suffering a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Oleg Popov earlier this year, snapping his four-fight win streak, in the process. The Turkish brawler now has a massive opportunity in front of him to end James’ run and kick start his own.
Bellator 297 will feature a Light Heavyweight title fight between champion, Vadim Nemkov, and former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title contender, Yoel Romero. In the co-main event, Patricio Pitbull will attempt to make history by winning his third title in as many divisions when he challenges Sergio Pettis for his Bantamweight belt. Also, Corey Anderson will battle Phil Davis to round out the stacked main card.
THIS
Chicago is only 3 or so hours away. I will go to this with or without my idiot friends
I’m driving so I don’t have time to read all that. Does it say when tickets go on sale?
Bellator is headed back to Chicago, and two title fights are coming with it.
The promotion has booked Bellator 297 for June 16 at Wintrust Arena where light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov (16-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) will face Yoel Romero (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) in the night’s headliner. In the co-main event, featherweight champion Patricio Freire (35-5 MMA, 23-5 BMMA) drops to bantamweight to challenge 135-pound titleholder Sergio Pettis (22-5 MMA, 9-5 BMMA).
Promotion officials confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Monday after an initial report by NBC Sports Chicago. The event will air on Showtime after prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.
Nemkov and Romero were originally expected to square off at Bellator 290 in February. However, Nemkov withdrew from the bout. Nemkov is coming off his grand prix-winning title defense against Corey Anderson in November. He has not lost since 2016.
Romero, 45, makes his first Bellator title challenge after multiple tries at middleweight gold in the UFC. Since joining Bellator in 2021, Romero lost a split decision to Phil Davis in his promotional debut before back-to-back wins over Melvin Manhoef and Alex Polizzi.
In what will be his Bellator bantamweight debut, Freire aims to pick up a title in a third weight class with the promotion. A former lightweight champion, Freire has reigned as featherweight champion since 2017 – with the exception of a nine-month period after a loss to A.J. McKee. In a rematch, Freire avenged his previous defeat before more recent victories over Adam Borics and Kleber Erbst.
Pettis, 29, is set to compete for the first time since he won the Bellator bantamweight title with a spinning backfist knockout of Kyoji Horiguchi in December 2021. Pettis was scheduled to compete in the ongoing Bellator bantamweight grand prix but withdrew prior to its start due to an ACL tear.
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Stacked card. I wish flights were cheaper!
Those four fights alone make it the best Bellator card of 2023. I’m really rooting for Pitbull to become the 1st fighter in UFC or Bellator history to capture titles in 3 weight classes. Gonna be fun to see what old man Romero can do vs Nemkov.
The Anderson Davis fight won’t get the credit it deserves, two underrated LHWs right there.
Davis is a former NCAA champ who has never been finished in like fifteen years in UFC/Bellator but he flies under the radar because he never got those big fights with DC or Jones. Rumble and Bader did beat him though while he was still in his prime in the UFC. Still though… 13 years in the UFC and Bellator and only Evans, Rumble, Bader and Nemkov have ever found a way to beat him and 3 of those six loses were split decisions.
Davis is just not much of a finisher and can’t grab the casual fans attention.
Bella way more reasonable than others
have a good time , i went 2 weeks ago