For the second year in a row, Bellator is returning to the “Windy City” and bringing a stacked card with it.
Here’s how to watch Bellator 297 in Chicago, with a complete lineup and look at the top fights.
Broadcast and streaming info
Bellator 297 takes place Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The prelims stream on Bellator’s YouTube channel at 6 p.m. ET. The main card airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET.
Main event
A light heavyweight title fight sits atop the card as champion Vadim Nemkov meets former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero. Nemkov, 30, is looking for his third title defense after defeating Corey Anderson in the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix final. Romero, 46, is on a two-fight winning streak after losing his Bellator debut in September 2021. Nemkov and Romero originally were expected to fight in February.
Co-main event
Bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis returns to the cage for the first time since his Knockout of the Year against Kyoji Horiguchi in December 2021. After suffering a torn ACL, Pettis is back to defend his title against Patricio Freire, the former featherweight and lightweight champion who is looking to make history as the promotion’s first three-division champion.
Full fight card
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET)
- Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero
- Sergio Pettis vs. Patricio Freire
- Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis
- Daniel James vs. Gokhan Saricam
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6 p.m. ET)
- Kyle Crutchmer vs. Bobby Nash
- Pieter Buist vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
- Ramazan Kuramagomedov vs. Jaleel Willis
- Karl Moore vs. Alex Polizzi
- Kevin Childs vs. Wladmir Gouvea
- Archie Colgan vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
- Mike Hamel vs. Shamil Nikaev
- Norbert Novenyi Jr. vs. Kamil Oniszczuk
- Timur Khizriev vs. Richie Smullen
- Jordan Newman vs. Matthew Perry
- Edwin Chavez vs. Cody Law
- David McKinney vs. Max Metzgar
