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Earlier tonight (Fri. June 16, 2023), Vadim Nemkov sought to defend his Bellator Light Heavyweight crown opposite Yoel Romero in the main event of Bellator 297 from inside Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. In an interesting fight, Nemkov retained his title.
From the first bell, the champion was aggressive. It didn’t take long for the Russian athlete to find the timing on his right hand, which landed high and low quickly. He also hammered away with kicks, doing good damage to a fighter that isn’t easy to hit.
Romero stayed tight defensively, but he didn’t throw a whole lot back in the first couple rounds. He was falling behind on the cards and certainly needed some of that classic third round magic to get back in the fight. He nearly got it! Romero landed a heavy counter shot and finished the round hunting for a submission in a wild turn of events.
Unfortunately for the Cuban, it wasn’t enough. Nemkov survived and picked up where he left off, badly damaging Romero in the fourth. Romero did bounce back for a relatively strong fifth frame, but it was far from enough for him to capture gold.
Check out the full fight highlights below:
Result: Nemkov via unanimous decision
Insomnia
There’s a very major K-1 kickboxing event tomorrow, featuring three title fights and some bad blood in the main event. If you’re tired of the Apex or just like elite kickboxing, tune in!
The most important HW kickboxing fight in years!
Interim GLORY HW Title
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1️⃣ Ranked HW
4️⃣ Straight KOs
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2️⃣ Ranked HW
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5️⃣0️⃣% Finish Ratio#COLLISION5 | Tomorrow pic.twitter.com/R1Xo99KSVh— Alan Murphy (@AlanMurphyMMA) June 16, 2023
GURAM KUTATELADZE HAS A FIGHT AGAIN! Now, we cross our fingers and hope it happens … cross
I’ve seen many versions of this meme format, but this is my favorite.
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— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 16, 2023
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Random Land
Click through for a thread of people complaining about the good ol’ days that goes 130 years.
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Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania