On Friday, June 16, Bellator returns to action with Bellator 297: Nemkov vs. Romero live from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The featured bout of the night is a light heavyweight title fight between Yoel Romero and champion Vadim Nemkov.
The co-main event is a bantamweight title fight between champion Sergio Pettis and the current featherweight champion, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire.
In total, there are 16 fights scheduled for this event as of this writing. You can bet on the entire Bellator 297 lineup at the top MMA betting sites.
Bellator 297 Odds
The following odds are courtesy of Bovada:
| Bet | Odds | Bet | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vadim Nekov | -385 | Sergio Pettis | +165 |
| Corey Anderson | -175 | Daniel James | -110 |
| Bobby Nash | +245 | Pieter Buist | +460 |
| Ramazan Kuramagomedov | -350 | Alex Polizzi | -130 |
| Archie Colgan | -475 | Norbert Novenyl | -240 |
| Timur Khizriev | -500 | Matthew Perry | +600 |
| Cody Law | -500 |
Bellator 297 Predictions
Take note of our massive number of upset calls, mostly due to the overvalued favorites that they’re facing. Spread out your upset bets cautiously at sports betting sites.
Vadim Nemkov -385 vs Yoel Romero +270
Now 2-1 for Bellator, Romero jumps straight to a title shot at 46 years old. It’s hard to believe this will be competitive, with Nemkov dominating the division, and beating the number one contenders with relative ease.
Romero lost a split decision bout to Phil Davis in 2021, after being inactive virtually the whole bout. He did the same in his two wins, save from the fact that he was able to land the knockout shot against Alex Polizzi with just one second remaining in the fight.
𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐚! 😱
Vadim Nemkov will be looking for another highlight reel victory when he takes on “The Solider of God” @YoelRomeroMMA in this weekend’s @BellatorMMA main event! 🔥#Bellator297 | Fri, June 16 | @BBCiPlayer pic.twitter.com/M3XMS5bvcr
— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) June 12, 2023
Nemkov is priced right at Bellator 297 odds of -385, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be looking for the parlay. Place a value bet on Nemkov to win via a five-round decision.
Sergio Pettis +165 vs Patricio Freire -220
Pettis is the underdog after dominating his last five fights. He faces two-weight class champ ‘Pitbull’ Freire in a bantamweight matchup for the title.
With A.J. McKee being the only man to beat Freire since Benson Henderson won via leg injury seven years ago, Freire’s heavy handedness and round winning style is a lot for any fighter to handle.
However, Freire is 35 years old, and dropping another weight class can have tough effects on an aging athlete. Pettis is 29 and in his prime, with losses only at the UFC level, and he even has a win over UFC champion Brandon Moreno.
If there is an underdog to bet, it’s Pettis. He’s facing a tough opponent, but one that has clear difficulties with the kind of kicking and counter submission work that Pettis demonstrates.
Phil Davis +135 vs Corey Anderson -175
Davis has seen three decisions in a row, and Bellator losses to Nemkov and Ryan Bader have come by decision. His defensive style is one that puts many fighters on the very edge of his range for full bouts, and he holds that slight reach advantage over Corey Anderson, who looked better than Davis against Nemkov in his first showing.
Anderson was a force in the UFC, and his release was a shocking one. He dispatched Bader in under a minute during their 2021 fight. Davis has never been knocked out, but we think the oddsmakers have it right.
Daniel James -110 vs Gokhan Saricam -120
At 41 years old, James is on a five-fight winning streak that includes victories over Tyrell Fortune and Denis Smoldarev. Each of these wins came via knockout, and they’ve led him to a bout against a 32-year-old knockout artist in Gokhan Saricam.
If the under prop becomes available for this fight, take it. For now, the Bellator 297 odds are razor close, with neither man ever being knocked out. If James wasn’t so old, this would be a no brainer. For that, we’re advising a light bet on James to beat Saricam, likely serving up his first knockout loss.
Bobby Nash +245 vs Kyle Crutchmer -350
Ending the enormous 12-fight prelim, Nash vs Crutchmer is a gatekeeper battle. Nash was 0-3 in the UFC before going 4-0 in XFC. The favorite, Crutchmer, has gone 3-2 in his last five, winning three Bellator decisions, most notably over Levan Chokheli and Oliver Enkamp.
Nash’s fumbles at the UFC level are being held against him, but the fact is that this guy is good. We’re unsure if he’ll win outright, but +245 is a great return on what we see as a fifty-fifty tossup.
Gadzhi Rabadanov -750 vs Pieter Buist +460
ONE championship isn’t getting much respect in this one. Buist was a terror at ONE, going 3-2 overall. He’s a submission machine going up against Rabadanov, whose four Bellator wins have shown little weakness. At 19-4-2, Rabadanov isn’t indestructible, and the belief that he’s this far past Buist is tough to swallow.
Buist is coming off two decision losses, and has taken two years off to rethink his technique for a return. We see Buist as the better bet, while Gadzhi is far overvalued at Bellator 297 odds of -750.
Jaleel Willis +250 vs Ramazan Kuramagomedov -350
Willis has fallen prey to the Dagestani style of ground control twice prior, even losing to Sabah Homasi in 2022. Kuramagomedov is that style embodied, focusing on submission grappling and control of the opponent at the cost of all else. Expect a fairly one-sided grappling match with Kuramagomedov winning three rounds.
Ramazan Kuramagomedov moves to 3-0 with a guillotine finish! pic.twitter.com/x8W9smqJUz
— ACA MMA (@ACA_League) February 23, 2018
Alex Polizzi -130 vs Karl Moore +100
This is a very fair matchup, with both men at 10-2 and both boasting five career submissions. Polizzi lost to Yoel Romero after winning the first two rounds, and Moore’s last loss was a flash knockout back in 2018.
Both men are exceptional grapplers, but we believe Polizzi is the better striker overall, and we’ll offer him as our pick. We’d stay clear of including either fighter in a parlay.
Archie Colgan -475 vs Emmanuel Sanchez +315
Undefeated Colgan faces his most experienced test to date. Sanchez is on a brutal four-fight losing streak, including a loss to Patricio Freire. He’s never been knocked out, but he’s not a strong finisher at the highest levels.
We see Archie Colgan giving Sanchez a rare loss via submission or TKO, sometime in the second round. Bellator 297 odds for Colgan are worth the parlay, especially a two-fight parlay alongside Kuramagomedov.
Norbert Novenyl -240 vs Kamil Oniszczuk +180
Undefeated at 6-0, Novenyi is a submission machine who showed off knockout power in his last outing. Oniszczuk is an athlete, but has repeated issues with grapplers, losing via brabo choke against Costello van Steenis at Bellator 287.
On paper, Kamil looks more experienced, but his last six fights are the only opponents worth looking at. Novenyl has five fights for Bellator and an amateur undefeated record.
Richie Smullen +325 vs Timur Khizriev -500
Undefeated Dagestani Khizriev is coming off a win over Bellator veteran Daniel Weichel by decision. He faces a fighter on a five-fight winning streak in Smullen, whose only losses are to Luis Pena and Alberth Dias.
Smullen will struggle greatly with Timur’s grappling, and Timur is great at mitigating damage. This fight is our third parlay pick, but the generous Bellator 297 odds for Khizriev giving a 1:5 return is a solid value bet.
Jordan Newman -1100 vs Matthew Perry +600
We said to bet the house on Newman in his last appearance at Bellator, winning via second round rear-naked choke. He won, but it was more competitive than we would have liked to see.
Perry is a BJJ specialist coming off a TKO win, with losses to the UFC’s Sean Soriano and Combat BJJ competitor Bobby Emmons. Perry hasn’t demonstrated the same level of dominant grappling skills, but he is far and away the best fighter Newman has faced.
Expect a fight more competitive than the odds give credit for.
Cody Law -500 vs Edwin Chavez +325
Law outclasses Chavez in nearly every category. Chavez has seen four losses in his last six fights and Law has lost his last two, but we still see more punching power and a better grappling game out of Law.
Bellator 297 Odds Have Plenty of Room to Grow
There are currently four fights without odds on the preliminary card, and with the five-fight main card showing some very exciting matchups, look to see prop bets later in the week.
The finishing prop bets for our moneyline fighters look good across the board, aside from Nemkov, who should ride out the decision win.
