Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information
and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and
portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into
the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories
behind those numbers.
* * *
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR FIGHTS: 3,342
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 299
Bellator
MMA ran its June tentpole event with a card that packed the
Wintrust Arena in Chicago. While on paper the event seemed to be
worthy of attention, many of the matchups did not meet
expectations.
Bellator
MMA light heavyweight title will hang in the balance in the
Bellator 297 featured a massive betting favorite prevailing in
expected fashion, a 205er that cannot stop befuddling the judges
and a denial of MMA history in the co-main.
Romero Had Nothing to Offer: To drop his career finish rate to an
even 75%,
Vadim
Nemkov needed all five rounds to beat
Yoel Romero
for the light heavyweight strap. He has now heard the final bell in
three of his last five matches, though one of the others ended via
no contest.
A Champ’s Champ: Not counting the 2022 no contest retention against
Corey
Anderson, Nemkov has now registered four defenses of his
205-pound throne. He is the fifth champ in company history to have
a reign with that many defenses, joining
Ben Askren,
Ilima-Lei
Macfarlane,
Patricio
Freire at featherweight and
Cristiane
Justino.
Clock’s Ticking: As a professional, Romero has still yet to capture
a title. In two major promotions, Romero has vied for straps on
four occasions and has fallen short by five-round decision every
time.
Proving Ground: Staving off featherweight kingpin
Patricio
Freire,
Sergio
Pettis held tightly to his 135-pound belt by winning a
clear-cut decision. He becomes just the second Bellator
bantamweight champ to ever record multiple title defenses, joining
Eduardo
Dantas.
Heck of a Resume: “The Phenom” saw his career finish rate drop to a
low 65% by upsetting Freire. In his last 14 fights dating back
eight years, Pettis has gone the distance 12 times.
So Close, Yet So Very Far: Although it came in a losing effort with
his attempt to become the first champ in three separate divisions
in a major organization, Freire did compete for the 28th time as a
Bellator fighter. That extends his record, with no other fighter
having more than 24.
Fights to the Competition: Coming up short on one scorecard,
Phil
Davis dropped a split decision to
Corey
Anderson. Davis is one split call shy of the company record,
held by
Daniel
Weichel (six).
Just Not Quite Enough: Of the five split verdicts Davis has fought
to as a Bellator fighter, three have ended in defeat. He and
Alejandra
Lara are tied for the most split decision losses in promotional
history.
Hype Train Derailed Completely: After three rounds,
Gokhan
Saricam did enough to get his hand raised against
Daniel
James. The Turkish fighter started his career with seven
straight stoppages, win or lose. Since then, he has gone the
distance in four consecutive appearances.
Thud Not a Slap: In the final postlim on the card, Wladimir Gouveia
wrecked
Gabriel
Sayeg with a body kick and follow-up punches in only 20
seconds. His knockout checks in as the seventh-fastest in Bellator
heavyweight history and the quickest stemming from a kick.
Might Need Crutches: Before the four-minute mark,
Kyle
Crutchmer battered
Bobby Nash
with punches to get the stoppage. The knockout for the new Fortis
MMA trainee is just his second, with the first occurring back in
2018.
Wolf with No Fangs:
Mike Hamel
took 15 full minutes to squeak past
Shamil
Nikaev, doing so by majority decision. The fighter known as
“The Chechen Wolf” has now gone to decision in 11 of his 12 pro
fights, accounting for all of his last eight bouts.
Timur Time: Keeping his spotless record alive at 13-0,
Timur
Khizriev took a unanimous decision over
Richie
Smullen. With three of his last four going the distance, “Imam”
now sees his decision rate rise to 69%.
The Magomedov Connection: At 1:24 of the opening frame,
Ramazan
Kuramagomedov thrashed
Jaleel
Willis with a knee and follow-up punches. The unbeaten Dagestan
native had only once before registered a knockout, taking place
over six years ago.
Nuclear Norb: With six wins under the Bellator banner and seven pro
victories overall,
Norbert
Novenyi Jr. blazed through
Kamil
Oniszczuk in 46 seconds to build on his perfect record. Five of
those seven have come in the first round.
Watching Veronica in the Stands: For only the second time in his
burgeoning career,
Archie
Colgan needed the full 15 minutes to outwork a foe. “King”
handed
Emmanuel
Sanchez a decision loss, and saw his finish rate fall to 75% --
but he remains undefeated at 8-0.
Only Human: “Not Human”
Jordan
Newman elevated his ledger to 6 wins with no defeats when he
landed a keylock on
Matthew
Perry. He holds an evenly distributed method of victory, with
two subs, two knockouts and two more by decision.
Barely a Formality: Ahead of his match with Perry, Newman closed as
a prohibitive -2500 betting favorite. Just eight past bouts in
company history – including two with fellow Bellator 297 competitor
Cody
Law – have seen a fighter favored this highly. No underdogs
have won those matchups, while the favorites have recorded eight
stoppages in those nine.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into Bellator 297, Nikaev had never
been defeated (11 fights),
Alex
Polizzi had never dropped consecutive bouts (12 fights) and
Oniszczuk had never been knocked out (11 fights).